Ranma Muyo
by Ryllen
Summary: Ranma and Tenchi crossover. With nothing left in Nerima Ranma decides to 'get lost' Hibiki style. What will he find and how will it affect his life? Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

Summary: After the failed wedding almost everyone around Ranma has become cold and distant. Once he's free he decides he needs to just get lost, and does it with a little help, and it could be the best thing he's ever decided to do. He meets with two women who will help him more than he'll ever realize.

Author's note: This is an AU, especially considering I'm having a bitch of a time tracking down any of the books after 31 and I haven't been able to see the series after a majority of season 5 I'm very unclear of what happens with Saffron, the failed wedding, and all that. So I'm sayin' right now this is an AU cause I don't want people to yell an holler that 'that never happened'. Oh, by the way, I can't stand Akane, you'll probably never see me do a Ranma/Akane ship, I think she's a spoiled brat with trust issues. I'm not sayin' Ranma's perfect by any means, but I got personal reasons to dislike people like Akane so deal with it.

Chapter 1

Ah Nerima, apex for chaos for the entire planet, you wouldn't find a single person in this town who fit the definition for normal. Even the little old lady who perpetually washes her sidewalk isn't normal, because due to mild radiation exposure when she was younger she developed the ability to detect people with magical curses. Now she gets her kicks hitting them with water whenever they pass by her home, and there's more than just people with Jusenkyo curses in Nerima. Unfortunately for the old dear, her preferred target isn't anywhere in sight, in fact he's hiding atop the roof of the Tendo dojo in an attempt to get just five minutes to himself.

"There's gotta be someway outta this mess," Ranma grumbled to himself from his perch. He had a clear view of the surrounding area so he would have plenty of warning in case someone decided to attempt _another_ attack today. He'd already gotten away from three of them, luckily there was only person attacking each time, but he knew it was only a matter of time. It was how every day went for him now, and it didn't look to be getting better any time soon.

It was only a week after the failed wedding between him and Akane, but things had gone from bad to worse the day after _that _disaster. All his current fiancées and their suitors, except Akane, had taken it up a notch to try and catch him. Kuno, Mouse, and Ryoga took exception to this and attacked him at every given chance in a day instead of once every few days to once a day. He had reduced his number of suitors by one right before that whole mess with Herb, but the other three were proving far more difficult to get rid of.

"Ranma, where are you," he heard Akane yelling from the ground near the house.

"Oi, I'm up here, whadda ya want," he called back after standing up so she could see him and see he was alone.

"Get down here you baka," Akane yelled angrily.

"I'm comin'," he muttered, knowing that obeying wasn't a good idea, but he didn't have much of a choice. "Whadda ya want," he asked once he was near her.

"Where do you get off picking on P-chan you jerk," she accused, completely baffling Ranma. He'd been on the roof for a while, and before that he'd been dodging attacks out of the house for most of the day, when was he picking on Ryoga?

"What're you talkin' about ya tomboy? I haven't even seen the damn pig today," Ranma replied.

"Don't you dare lie to me, I saw you picking on P-chan," she further accused before whipping out her trusty mallet and calling out her trusty battle cry of, "RANMA NO BAKA," before she launched him into lower earth orbit.

"What the hell was that about, I didn't do a damn thing ta Ryoga today," Ranma grumbled, "I think she just wanted to hit me for the helluvit." Looking down at where he was going to land he expended some ki to control his descent and land safely before making his way back towards the dojo. "At least I didn't land in a fountain this time." Of course this lasted until he passed the old ladle lady who was happy to once again have her favorite target in her sights ensuring it would be onna-Ranma that walked to the Tendo dojo.

"Do ya do that on purpose," Ranma asked out of curiosity. His only answer was an 'I'm so sweet chocolate wouldn't melt in my mouth' smile from the elder woman. "Figures," Ranma grumbled before continuing his, now her, trek home.

"I'm back," Ranma called once he got inside and took his shoes off. Luckily he hadn't been inside the house all day, it was annoying to clean his feet off because he was ejected without shoes. Only silence greeted his call, which puzzled Ranma because he knew everyone should be home at this time, and yet nobody, not even Kasumi, greeted him. Normally Kasumi greeted _everyone_ regardless of how long they've been gone, so to not get an answer was strange. Walking in he noticed that dinner had started, and finished, without him.

"Hey Kasumi, is there any supper left," he asked politely hoping to get something into his stomach.

"I'm sorry Ranma-kun, I gave Uncle Genma the leftovers, I assumed you would stop by Ukyo or Shampoo's considering the time," Kasumi replied with her oblivious voice.

"That's fine, um, is there any hot water in the kettle? The ladle lady got me on the way back," he asked. He could understand his pops getting the leftovers, hell, Ranma never got food on the road if he was too slow. But Kasumi starting dinner without everyone there was quite odd.

"There isn't any, no, Uncle Genma needed it to change back for supper, but you can go ahead and put a kettle on to boil," Kasumi told him with her vapid smile as she took the last of the dishes into the kitchen to wash up leaving Ranma quite confused.

"I gotta be imaginin' things," Ranma muttered quietly, "There's no way Kasumi is deliberately doin' things ta me. I think I'll just turn in for the night." With that decision made Ranma trudged up to the guest room, it had never been _his_, and laid on one of the spare futons to sleep. Since he'd probably be awoken by his pops or Akane by being changed into a girl anyway there wasn't a reason to change back now.

**_(Break)_**

****

_A few weeks later_

"What can I do for you Saotome," Nabiki asked after she had opened her door.

"Can I talk to ya for a minute," he asked indicating he wanted it kept private instead of in the hallway.

"Sure, come on in," she replied before opening the door fully and admitting him. "What do you want, and make it quick," she snapped once the door was closed.

"Guess you don't want any yen then," he replied with a non-committal shrug before heading back towards the door.

"What do you mean Saotome," Nabiki asked coolly, "We both know you don't have a yen to your name and I know everything there is to know about you already."

"You're wrong, on both accounts, but that's besides the point," Ranma told her, "I'm here ta pay off some of my debt to ya. What's my total up to?"

"¥75,000," Nabiki replied after a moment. She had to take a minute to gather herself after being told she was wrong, by Ranma no less.

"Well, here's ¥25,000 of it," Ranma told her handing over a stack of bills.

"Where did you get this," she asked with her eyes drawn into slits, "There's no way you could have saved this money without me knowing about it."

"You're wrong about that too, but I didn't have to save it up, I earned that, and I'm not gonna tell ya where so save yer breath," he told her before walking out her door before she gather her wits again to keep pressing him for information. A few more weeks and he'd have the full amount saved up. All he'd have to do is keep it somewhere away from Nabiki. Telling her he _earned_ it was a bit of a stretch. True, he earned it, but that was only because he was playing body guard for some people from the Yakuza. As Ranma looked at it beating up some thugs didn't really constitute 'earning his paycheck', but as long as his boss thought so he wasn't going to complain. He would start making ¥625,000 next week, but this week was a short week. In fact he'd only worked a day so far, but the rest of that money was hidden.

Unfortunately most of that had to be saved up because Ranma was really starting to feel unwelcome in the Tendo dojo. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to be living under the roof of the dojo and he needed to have money saved up in case he was out on the street. He had learned that Kasumi was going out of her way, or rather not going out of her way for him. If Akane was mad at him, which was a daily occurrence, then he'd either get less food for dinner or he wouldn't get anything if he wasn't there on time. The kettle never seemed to be full when he needed it, and Ranma was going to find out if, unbelievable as it sounds, Kasumi was lying about that. Making his way out of the house he told everyone he was going for a quick walk and would be back in time for supper which was 20 minutes away. That was plenty of time to have been 'accidentally changed into onna-Ranma and need hot water. Sure enough, the ladle lady hit with unerring accuracy making Ranma throw her a grateful smile. That sure threw her off for a minute. He practically skipped his way back to the dojo before making his way in through the kitchen when he noticed Kasumi wasn't in there.

"Kasumi, mind if I use this hot water," Ranma asked seeing that the kettle was full. He held it up as he stood in the doorway seeing his father wasn't changed into a panda so he wouldn't have any need of it.

"I'm sorry Ranma, I need to save that in case Uncle Genma needs it later tonight," she told him. It was then he noticed that they had started supper what had to have been a full 15 minutes early for the amount of food everyone had eaten. Putting the kettle back Ranma disappeared up the stairs without a word or a glance to anyone, because if _Kasumi_ wasn't welcoming him in the house anymore then nobody else was going to. The last thing he heard before he closed the door to the guest room was Akane telling everyone, "Maybe now he understands nobody wants him here."

**_(Break)_**

****

"Hinako-sensei, can I have a moment," Ranma asked once everyone had left the room for lunch. As usual Hinako chose to have her lunch in the room since neither the teachers or the students really cared much to have their lunch with her.

"What do you need Saotome-san," Hinako asked. She was in her adult form thanks to a 'delinquent' that she had sucked dry just prior to the bell ringing, though it wouldn't last long.

"I was wondering if we could work out a, what's the word, a truce I guess if I can prove that I ain't sleeping anymore in class," Ranma asked her. Of course it _looked_ like he was sleeping in class, but he didn't want to tip his hand to anyone else.

"What kind of truce," she asked skeptically.

"Alls I'm asking is that you don't drain me for 'sleeping' and keep actin' like I don't know anything and I'll do any make up work ya want and keep up with homework and tests," he proposed.

"Prove to me you weren't sleeping earlier first," she demanded.

"You were talkin' about verb conjugation for most of the class when ya weren't drainin' the people who were goofin' off," he replied before walking up to the board and wrote down a few examples that she had talked about in class.

"How could you possibly know that," she asked in shock.

"I figured the only way I'm gonna pass school is if I got a way to learn what I needed ta without havin' ta find a way to stay awake. So I messed around and found a way to meditate that let me remember what I hear," he explained, "It just looks like I'm sleepin', and I still get the rest, but I remember everythin' that's taught. I just need to catch up to the class so I know what's goin' on and it'll be easier."

"As long as you allow me to test you with the class and separately I'll allow this. I reserve the right to pop quiz you on anything we've learned in class or through homework at anytime," she replied.

"That works, so long as you don't plan on showin' up at the Tendo's to do it 'cause I might not be there," he told her.

"And why wouldn't you be," she asked sternly, "You know students aren't allowed to have jobs, are you out being a womanizing pervert?"

"Nuh uh, mostly just trying to stay outta fights and keep people safe. Ya know, martial artists code, it's a martial artists duty to protect the weak," he replied. It wasn't exactly a lie, and he only said no to being a womanizing pervert.

"Alright, we'll confine the testing to school hours, mostly during lunches, speaking of lunch, where's yours," she asked curiously. She had never known Ranma to go a day without eating as much as he could during lunch.

"Uh…um…forgot it, yeah, that's it," he replied nervously, proving he still couldn't tell a straight lie to save his life, "I'll just grab somethin' on the way home."

"Alright, I'll have a list of work for you that will bring you up to current tomorrow, since we're only just over a month into the new year you're not very behind," she informed him before motioning him out just before she began shrinking.

"Thanks Hinako-sensei," he replied before putting a couple suckers that he got from Dr. Tofu on her desk and leaving the room. He had over half the lunch hour to kill yet and a few more teachers to track down to see if they'd be open to the same deals. He was just hoping that none of them were in Nabiki's pocket.

"Hey Ranma," a voice called from down the hall as soon as he got five steps from the classroom.

"Toshiro right," Ranma asked. He was, and he admitted it, terrible at remembering names unless the person tried to kill him a few times.

"Yeah, the computer club sent me to find you because we wanted to give you something as a thank you," Toshiro told him. Toshiro was your typical nerd, he wasn't as rail-thin or sickly looking as Gosunkugi, but he was close in the thin department. He also had the standard thick frames, which Ranma had asked about the first time they had talked, Toshiro had said that if he was going to be labeled a geek he might as well look the part.

"They don't need to do anything," Ranma told him self-consciously, "I just did it cause nobody deserves ta be beat up by a bunch of bullies."

"They thought you might feel that way," Toshiro said with a grin. He had gotten a lot more relaxed around Ranma after talking to him a few times. He had become the 'elected' spokesmen for the computer club whenever they needed to talk to or have someone fetch Ranma. So Toshiro and Ranma had run into each other a few times so Ranma could take care of a few bullies that didn't know when to quit.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this," Ranma asked dryly.

"We decided since we can't stop giving Nabiki technology, sorry, and you won't accept any, that we'd do the next best thing," Toshiro said with an amused grin, "We're going to teach you how to use a computer!"

"Ta do what? Not like I really need ta use one," Ranma pointed out.

"Not right now, but you might someday, and it's best to have at least a background understanding so if you're ever forced to you'll be able to figure out what you have to do," Toshiro prodded. He knew that if all else failed he had one other card he could pull out.

"Well, that makes sense, but I dunno," Ranma was quite reluctant to add anything else to his schedule right now, and learning how to use a computer wasn't high on his priority list.

"Alright, but we just thought you might want to get into Martial Arts Computer Hacking," Toshiro said flippantly. He knew anything that had to do with martial arts would perk Ranma's interest, and a few computer clubs from High School and College levels had devised Martial Arts Computer Hacking as a way to claim to be martial artists without the physical pain.

"Martial Arts Computer Hacking? I thought I had heard of most arts, but never heard of that one," Ranma thought out loud.

"Are you interested? There's a tournament coming up soon," Toshiro asked.

"Sure, if it's martial arts there ain't nothing I can't learn," Ranma said full of ego making Toshiro sweat drop. Most of the people in the computer club had put years into learning how to hack at the levels they were at now, and Ranma was boasting as usual that he'd learn in no time flat.

"Are you still working for Keiosu-san," Toshiro asked curiously.

"Yeah, she said she'd have a permanent schedule for me on Monday," Ranma replied quietly as he guided Toshiro farther away from Hinako's classroom, "Thanks for settin' up the meetin'."

"No problem Ranma, we all know that nobody can really beat you, it just seemed to fit that you'd be a body guard," Toshiro replied uncomfortably. He wasn't really used to compliments unless it came from his fellow computer club members.

"Well the job's really gonna help me out, so I owe ya one," Ranma told him before patting Toshiro on the back, "Lunch is just about over so I better get back to my classroom. I'll talk to ya later about when I can learn that computer stuff from ya."

"Talk to you later Ranma," Toshiro replied before heading off towards his own classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: I know I'm gonna get flamed for this chapter, but I dun care, I can use 'em ta toast marshmallows. Just a reminder, this is an AU, so characters are OOC, not that any writer other than Takahashi can make a perfectly cannon story, but I'm not trying either. So : o P Anywho, hope you enjoy the chapter anyway!

Chapter 2

"Thank Kami I got Nabiki paid off finally, now I don't need ta worry about settin' aside any more money ta pay her off," Ranma muttered to himself as he walked towards the guest room. He'd taken more time than he initially hoped to in paying her off, but after working out a budget that he'd need when he decided to move out Ranma realized it'd be better to have the full expenses set aside right away. That way if something happened later he wouldn't need to worry about coming up with any money he was short.

Ranma had worked out a deal with Keiosu so he wouldn't have to find a place to actually _hide_ the money. She would hold onto it for him, for a small price of course, and he could request money whenever he needed it. Deciding to get out of the house for now Ranma grabbed a spare set of shoes from his pack and leapt out the window. It didn't matter if he told anyone he was leaving, because they didn't appear to care anymore. He didn't have a real destination in mind, just wandered around aimlessly for the better part of an hour, but, of course, that's when his luck ran out.

"_Airen_," Shampoo shouted as she leapt towards him in an attempt to glomp him. Ranma normally could have sidestepped the attempt but he was shaken out of his internal thoughts when he heard her shout so he was taken off guard. Shampoo, as always, snaked her arms around him as she ground her…assets into her beloved in hopes of seducing him. Or at least that's what Ranma assumed was her thought process. "Airen take Shampoo on date, yes," she asked, well, more like demanded in a cute voice.

"Let go of him you hussy," Ukyo shouted from down the street before advancing towards the now on guard Shampoo.

"Spatula-girl leave Shampoo and Airen alone," Shampoo snarled. She definitely was getting sick of the constant rivalry between the three of them, but for her Airen she'd put up with anything.

"I'm not going to let you drag him off so you can have your way with him sugar, so ya might as well forget that thought right now," Ukyo deadpanned.

"I knew it! You're out here hanging out with your floozies," Akane shouted enraged. Ranma was _her_ property, he wasn't allowed to be with any of the others.

"A-Akane, it's not what it looks like," Ranma stuttered. _Man I wish I could talk straight when I get in these situations,_ Ranma griped in his mind.

"Sure it isn't, and I suppose you were just minding your own business when Shampoo came along, YEAH RIGHT! RANMA NO BAKA," she shouted before driving him to the ground with a mallet strike to the head.

"Saotome, you villainous cur, today is the day I shall smite thee," Kuno yelled as he charged towards the fight that was just beginning with the Kuno family blade unsheathed. For some reason or another, instead of the girls fighting each other, they appeared to be competing as to who could injure Ranma the most. Ukyo didn't appear to be trying as much as the other two, but she got a few good strikes in as well.

"Ranma Saotome, for hurting my darling Shampoo I will defeat you," Mousse shouted as he too joined the fray with chains, spikes, and blunt objects leading the way.

"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE," Ryoga shouted his familiar battle cry before using the breaking point on the ground right under Ranma so all the debris would hit Ranma's back. Ranma leapt to his feet preparing to dodge just as Kuno was about to strike again, but unfortunately due to the earlier hits he wasn't keeping track of his surroundings as usual. Just as he got to his feet Mousse's chains wrapped around him holding him perfectly still just long enough for Kuno to bury his blade guard deep into Ranma's chest. Consequently it also meant the blade was coming out the other side, and this sight made everyone freeze. Before anyone could move to do anything, whether it be help or insure his demise, Ranma pushed his ki into his limbs and used the extra power to break the chains holding him. This act pushed everyone, including Kuno and his sword, back a few meters as they tried to avoid the shrapnel. The fight didn't last much longer after that. Ranma used the adrenaline and his ki to speed up his movements to the point where he could either knock out or away everyone that was attacking him. The fiancée brigade ended up in the latter category due to the fact it would take less force to knock them away then to knock them out. By the time the battle field was clear Ranma had blood running down his front and back staining his clothes all the way to the bottom of his pants.

"Glad…(huff…huff)…That's over," Ranma panted before he began limping towards the dojo. Regardless of how Kasumi treated him before he knew she wouldn't refuse to help him now. He could tell he wasn't mortally wounded, but it was a close thing.

**_(Break)_**

"I'm home," Akane called as she walked in. She was limping, favoring her right leg, while heading towards her room.

"Oh my, what happened," Kasumi asked concerned.

"That baka was flirting with Ukyo and Shampoo and didn't take his punishment like he should have," Akane replied, although the latter half of the statement was quietly muttered to the point Kasumi didn't hear it.

"That's not nice, he shouldn't be doing that," Kasumi replied before turning to go back to working on dinner. When she turned she saw Ranma stagger inside and she instantly frowned at him. If he was going to flirt with other girls he wasn't going to get any sympathy from her.

"Kasumi, can ya help me," Ranma practically pleaded. He was running low on energy after staggering all the way back to the dojo while diverting ki to his wounds to help them heal sooner.

"Ranma-san, I would ask that you please do not track anymore blood in than you already have, it's hard enough to get out the little bit that I do on a daily basis without you tracking in large amounts," she told him while completely disregarding his question.

"K-Kasumi," he asked shocked, while Kasumi didn't say it cold, per say, he could tell the worry in her voice was only about the amount of work she'd have if he came inside any further. He couldn't believe his ears.

"If you need help see Dr. Tofu, that is what his office is for after all," she scolded before continuing her trek into the kitchen. Ranma noticed Akane standing there with a smug grin on her face and his head immediately drooped before he turned and began his staggering walk towards Tofu's.

"Ranma, are you okay," Tofu called from down the street.

"Hey Doc, was just coming to see ya," Ranma rasped out. It was getting harder to do anything, let alone talk, and the last thing Ranma saw before falling down in a dead faint was Tofu's shocked expression. He wasn't sure how long it was, but when he woke up he was looking at the ceiling in Tofu's clinic.

"Ranma, what happened," the kind doctor asked when he noticed Ranma was awake.

"Same as usual, but they got a few more hits in than normal," Ranma replied with a wry grin.

"This is no laughing matter Ranma," Tofu chided him, "You had a stab wound going completely through your torso, and you were lucky that whatever caused it missed all your vital organs and your spine. I was able to stitch up your chest and back, and there's going to be some scarring, but any aggravation of those wounds could cause serious problems."

"Damn Kuno," Ranma muttered angrily. Then he explained _exactly_ what had happened through the fight, he even included Kasumi's reaction trying to figure out what the hell was up with her and figured the Doc might be able to help.

"K-Kasumi," Tofu giggled as his glasses began to fog up, but they stopped as quickly as it began and he looked serious. "You say she wouldn't help you at all? That she sounded more worried about the mess the blood would cause," Tofu asked, seeing Ranma's nod he became grim before continuing, "That doesn't like the Kasumi I know at all."

"I know what ya mean Doc, but then again she ain't exactly been hospitable to me lately either," he commented before explaining everything that'd been happening the last couple months.

"This is very disconcerting, but unfortunately I don't think there is anything I can do. If you need someone to talk to you're more than welcome to stop by here," Tofu told Ranma.

"Thanks Doc," Ranma replied before asking, "How long do I gotta avoid fightin'?"

"With your ability to heal I would say two weeks at the most," Tofu commented lightly.

"Damn, guess I lose my job then, can I borrow yer phone doc," Ranma asked hopefully. Tofu nodded somewhat confused, but assumed he would get the story out of Ranma after the phone call.

"Thanks Doc," Ranma said before dialing the number for Keiosu. "Hi, Keiosu-san, yeah, it's me Ranma. I'm callin' cause accordin' to my doc I can't fight fer about two weeks. Yeah, I know…Didja wanna confirm it with Doc Tofu? Ok, can ya meet me at the office so I can grab my checks? Thanks Keiosu-san, bye."

"You're working for Keiosu," Tofu asked amazed. He knew exactly what type of work Ranma was doing after he heard that name. Several of their past bodyguards had been treated in his office to avoid it becoming public.

"Yep, fer about two months now," Ranma commented, "Hey Doc, any chance you'll come with me? Could use someone ta talk to right now and I gotta get to her office soon so I can get my pay that she's been holdin' for me."

"Of course Ranma, that's fine," Tofu replied before hanging up his closed sign and leaving with Ranma.

**_(Break)_**

_Two weeks later_

"Hey Toshiro," Ranma said as he walked into the lab. He'd been studying up on hacking with the entire computer club for the past two months and he'd finally gotten it down. Of course this amazed the computer club to no end, but Ranma just told them that he can do anything martial arts after seeing it a few times. They knew he was joking because they'd seem him much more modest when he had made the accomplishments, but the cocky grin still irked them sometimes.

"Hey Ranma, whatcha doin' here," Toshiro asked.

"There's something I needed ta look up quick and figured this'd be the best place ta do it," Ranma commented. Out of everyone who knew Ranma Toshiro was the only one who knew of Ranma's deal with his teachers and how he caught up, but Ranma still insisted on talking like a moronic jock. He couldn't figure out why.

"Okay, need any help," Toshiro asked. Even though Ranma could hack with the best in the club he still didn't know everything there was to know about computers, and had problems with the more basics.

"Nah, I'm just gonna look ta see if I got any family out there. Figured I could get into the government servers and look up the Saotome register cause Pops and Mom won't let me see their copy," Ranma explained as he sat down in one of the computers that the club reserved for the more difficult hacks. They had several hidden programs installed onto the machine to allow them to do their work, and they also changed the card in it so often that it would be difficult to trace back to that specific computer should any of them get caught while hacking.

"Mind if I stick around," Toshiro asked. He was kind of curious about Ranma's family as well after getting to know the pigtailed youth better. His parents were both extremely loony and Toshiro was curious if his entire family was that way. _At least they aren't as bad as the Kuno's_, Toshiro thought with an internal chuckle.

"Sure, shouldn't take too long," Ranma said as his fingers flew over the keyboard at chestnut speed. The only time they stopped was when Ranma needed to wait, and that was rare because he usually had several programs running at once and while one was making him wait he'd be working on another so it was ready in time. It was only about 10 minutes later when Ranma got to the page he was looking for that displayed the Saotome register and all affiliations by marriage.

"Hey, uh, Ranma," Toshiro began nervously. He could tell Ranma was looking at the relations above his parents, but Toshiro had a more 'pressing' question to have answered. It was a running bet that Ranma wasn't Genma's child, and that question was just answered.

"Yeah Toshiro," Ranma asked as he scanned his relatives. He found quite a few still alive, which bugged him since none of them ever expressed a desire to meet him that he knew of, let alone was there any that he'd even heard of.

"Um, you aren't on there Ranma," Toshiro said while pointing to the bottom of the page just under Genma and Nodoka (Sagate) Saotome.

"What," Ranma exclaimed as he looked, and sure enough, his name didn't appear anywhere on the register. "No wonder they never let me see the damn thing, or why Genma had no problems selling me when I was a kid," Ranma said angrily.

"Hey Ranma, doesn't this mean that you aren't engaged to anyone but Shampoo," Toshiro asked hoping to cheer Ranma up. He knew Ranma was sick of the engagements, and hopefully this would cheer him up some.

"Yeah, no wonder Pops wanted me married soon, probably would've had me take on the Tendo name too," Ranma commented after he cooled off, "Well, I think I'll just hold onto this information. It might just come in handy later."

"Don't worry, Nabiki won't hear a word of it from me," Toshiro promised.

"Thanks man, well, I'm gonna get outta here. Just got one more makeup assignment left to finish before I'm caught up," Ranma said before closing all the open programs and leaping out the open window.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

"That stupid, baka tomboy! Why do I always have to be the one to apologize? Nobody ever tells her to apologize for hittin' me," Ranma grumbled as he made his was across the roof of the Tendo home to take a quick peek into Akane's room before swinging down in the hopes of apologizing. He had already attempted her door, and she just yelled at him to leave not even giving him the chance to speak after telling her it was him. Poking his head over the edge of the roof Ranma got a look at something that he never thought he would see. In Akane's room was _not_ a girl crying to her pet pig as everyone in the house assumed. Ryoga was in there alright, but the closest he was getting to his cursed form was an acronym for the couple's current actions. Seeing the woman he cared for most, especially after going the distance to kill a _God_ for her, cheating on him, Ranma was understandably pissed off. It was safe to say that he hadn't ever been this angry in his life. All the instances of his going off to save her life flashed through his mind, and all the times she had hit first and didn't bother to even listen to his side of the story even later followed. By the time the memories stopped he had to resort to the soul of ice to keep from burning the roof due to the heat generated by his aura.

"SWEETO," Happosai yelled attempting to douse Ranma once again with water, unfortunately for him he didn't see the warning signs and Ranma calmly dodged the water.

"Hey, ya ol' pervert! Perfect timin', I need a good workout," Ranma yelled, "Waddya say we settle this once and for all?"

"What do you mean Ranma," Happosai asked curiously. He wasn't worried about Ranma, even though he hadn't gone to China he knew he could still take the boy, but he was a little curious as to what the lad meant.

"You, me, fight for the title of Grandmaster of Anything Goes, now," Ranma ground out settling into a stance. He knew the old pervert would agree, and right now he was really glad he'd been holding back for a while. The lech would never know what hit him.

"Alright Ranma, if that's what you want," Happosai replied seriously after taking a drag off of his pipe, "Let's take this fight somewhere else."

"I'm not stupid Happosai, we need someone ta be a witness," Ranma sniped.

"And we'll have one," Happosai snapped back, "Meet me behind the school in half an hour."

"You're on," Ranma yelled before bounding off keeping to rooftops. He was still extremely angry by Akane's betrayal that he wasn't sure that this was the best idea, but there was no backing out now. "And she calls me a pervert," he muttered to himself as he dashed over the rooftops towards the school. He was moving his legs just short of Amaguriken speeds, he had found after training them to that speed that if he ran that fast he tended to damage property just by running, so he had to slow just a bit. He made it to the school in near record time, of course, if you asked Guinness, it would've been a world record. Keeping a firm clamp on the Soul of Ice so he didn't alert Happosai to his true strength Ranma lied in wait for the battle that he'd wanted to happen for a while now. Unfortunately Happosai had been on a vacation to a hot springs for the past month and hadn't been available. According to what he heard before alighting the roof it appeared it was a women's only hot spring due to the sheer amount of stolen panties the pervert had returned with.

"Are you ready Ranma," Happosai asked bounding into the field looking as serious as he had upon the rooftop.

"You bet ya old perv'," Ranma called out.

"What's this for son-in-law," Cologne called out as she hopped out from behind Genma and Soun.

"Good timing old ghoul," Ranma called out, "We need someone to witness the old pervert losing his title as Grandmaster of Anything Goes. Someone who _won't_ lie about the results of the fight because of fear of Happosai."

"I would be honored son-in-law," Cologne replied after gathering her wits. She had witnessed Ranma's battle with Saffron and knew he was powerful, much more so than Happosai, but what would he have to gain by taking the title of Grandmaster? Genma and Soun were wailing that Ranma was acting dishonorable and/or Ranma wasn't going to live to join the schools. Cologne decided to call out the terms of the battle to make sure everyone agreed and _hopefully_ prevent any deaths tonight.

"This match is Anything Goes Martial Arts for the title of Grandmaster. There is no time limit, and to win you must knock out your opponent or they must concede, no lethal blows allowed. There will be no rematches allowed within a year. Are we all agreed," She asked, seeing nods of heads all around she prayed that it stayed that way before calling out, "BEGIN!"

Ranma took his usual defensive stance that he reserved for battles with Happosai or Cologne while he waited for the founder of his school of martial arts to make the first move. Happosai seemed to take on Ranma's usual stance of complete cockiness and indifference. It didn't last long though, after seeing that he wasn't going to goad Ranma into attacking first this time Happosai made the first of many mistakes throughout the fight. Leaping towards Ranma with his pipe extended feinting an attack for his chest he was surprised when the next thing he knew he was practically seeing bras flying around his head and he was imbedded in a crater. He hadn't even seen Ranma move before he was put into the ground! From there it went downhill. When he tried a Happo fire burst the attack was caught and sent back at him at the last second so he couldn't dodge. When he manifested his aura Ranma let go of the Soul of Ice releasing his Aura which dwarfed the old lech's aura by twice the size! Ki attacks were nullified by one moko takabisha only to have another following on it's tail.

Within 15 minutes Happosai was feeling fear for the first time in quite a long time. Happosai jumped back to assess the situation and redirect more of his ki. He couldn't think of a single way to beat Ranma back and he was quickly losing his strength. Normally he could fight for hours on end but his ki had been redirected to healing the wounds he had been accumulating throughout their battle and it was taxing even _him_. Ranma only looked a little winded at this point due to the high speeds they were keeping up whenever they weren't using special attacks and Happosai knew now that there was no way he was walking away from this battle with his title. As loath as he was to do it, even for his chosen heir, he felt the only thing he could do was to concede. Ranma was too good, and it wouldn't be so bad. He would only need a few days to recuperate his lost energy at this point and he could live out his retirement. If the battle continued it might take him much longer to recuperate, if he did at all.

"Ready to give up ya ol' perv," Ranma yelled out.

"Alright Ranma, you win," Happosai replied shocking everyone, "I grant you the title of Grandmaster of Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. I always knew you would be the one to get the title from me, I just didn't think it'd be this soon."

"You're really giving up," Ranma asked in shock. He couldn't believe that one of the banes of his existence was finally conceding! It was like the Kami's were making up for what happened earlier tonight.

-----

"Are you messing around with that mortals life again," Skuld asked her elder sister.

"I'm not messing with it…I'm improving it," Urd replied with a grin.

-----

"The winner is Ranma Saotome as Happosai has conceded," Cologne called out.

"Ya ain't gonna come around in a year and try and get the title back from me are ya," Ranma asked.

"Not at all, I plan on enjoying my retirement," Happosai told him, "I can finally get away from these two who ruined my school."

"Why didn't ya ever kick 'em outta the school then," Ranma asked.

"I couldn't, there was nobody else to take over the school," Happosai replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before he handed a scroll over that he had made quite a while ago when he realized that Ranma would one day best him. It detailed that Ranma was now the Grandmaster of Anything Goes School of Martial Arts with all right and privileges, yadda, yadda, yadda, and it said he could both issue and revoke the right to teach the school from anyone.

"Thank you Happosai," Ranma told him with a Cheshire grin that didn't sit well with the two other men present. Cologne herself hopped away the moment the scroll was handed over as she was afraid Ranma would challenge her to get the kisses revoked now that Happosai was taken care of.

"Not at all my boy," Happosai told him, "Now, I'll be off." With that Happosai bounded off towards the dojo, albeit a little slower and with a little more care than normal.

"Congratulations boy, I knew you could do it," Genma yelled racing towards Ranma in hopes of getting the scroll. He wanted to steal it and doctor it so _he_ was named Grandmaster, after all he had spent all those years training his boy, he deserved it didn't he? (Anyone besides Genma really think he does? I didn't think so.)

"Genma Saotome," Ranma called out stopping his father in his tracks with the sheer amount of venom in his voice.

"What is it boy," Genma asked perplexed.

"For failin' ta uphold the honor of the school, and usin' the skills in the school in a way that brings dishonor upon it, your right ta teach Anything Goes Martial Arts is taken away," Ranma called out shocking both Genma and Soun to the core. "Ya disgrace the school anymore and ya will lose your right to practice Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Now see hear boy," Genma screamed before running at Ranma. Not one of his brightest ideas, but it's Genma, he was swiftly made unconscious for the effort.

"Soun Tendo," Ranma yelled seeing the other man attempting to make a break for it, "I have not decided yet as ta whether or not take your license ta teach Anything Goes, probably wouldn't do any good seein' as how you don't teach anyway, but hear this now, Akane Tendo will _not_ be allowed to continue practicing! She uses Anything Goes to force her way onto others as opposed to protecting others as is a martial artist's duty."

"WAAAAH, THE SCHOOLS WILL NEVER BE JOINED," Soun wailed.

"They wouldn't have been anyway Tendo-san," Ranma told him taking pity on the man. He really was a pathetic man and Ranma couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Akane is cheating on me with Ryoga, and unless you want her pregnant out of wedlock I suggest you have a priest at your house tomorrow to wed them." With that piece of advice the patriarch of the Tendo family fell over in a dead faint. Since that bit of business was concluded Ranma decided it was past time to head back to the dojo and inform a certain tomboy of his decision. Sure, it was petty, but nobody could deny that he had solid reasoning for taking away her right to practice Anything Goes. Instead of protecting the weak like she should she hit people who didn't agree with her opinions. Especially if she thought they were a pervert.

**_(Break)_**

"Ryoga, you better change back before anyone notices," Akane told him quietly while they were snuggling together. They'd had plenty of nights like this after she had found out that he was P-chan. Oh, it had taken her awhile, but Ranma had tried to come into her room with a kettle enough times and called Ryoga P-chan enough times for even her to connect the dots. It all went along with some kinky fantasies she had anyway so after hitting Ryoga a few times for being a pervert she let him off the hook and continued pretending she didn't know a thing.

"Alright Akane-chan," Ryoga told her before grabbing the glass of water they had on her nightstand for just that reason, "I love you Akane."

"I love you too Ryoga," she told him before watching him transform into her beloved pet. After tossing Ryoga's clothes into her closet Akane decided to take a quick bath before going downstairs to hit Ranma a few more times. She always slept better after pounding on him a little. So with a lighthearted smile she grabbed some clean clothes, put a bathrobe on, and headed for the furo.

_Meanwhile downstairs_

"Where's daddy and Mr. Saotome," Nabiki asked Kasumi. It was rare she didn't know where everyone was, and she didn't like not knowing. She figured Ranma was on the roof, and Happosai she figured was on a panty raid.

"Oh, well Ranma challenged Grandfather Happosai for his title, they went to witness the match," Kasumi informed her younger sister as if it were an everyday occurrence. Nabiki planted her face into the floor at the fact that Kasumi could say that so casually. This was huge news and Kasumi was her usual oblivious self.

"How long ago did they leave," Nabiki asked after she got up and got her mask back on.

"I would say around an hour," Kasumi said as she continued straightening the house up as was her want. She wanted to keep the wa of the house up after all, and that was increasingly difficult after the Saotome's came. She didn't really mind, she enjoyed the work, but she just wished Ranma would treat Akane better.

"I wonder when they'll get back," Nabiki asked aloud.

"Well, my pops'll probably be back pretty soon and your father will whenever he gets over his shock," Ranma replied as he walked in. Nabiki immediately scanned him for injuries but curiously found none.

"Is what I heard right, were you fighting Happosai for the rights to the school," Nabiki asked in a way that said 'you will answer OR ELSE'. This little act made Ranma smirk a bit, seeing as how he wouldn't be engaged to Akane after tonight and he doubted he would even be sleeping under this roof another night there wasn't much Nabiki could do to him. He would humor her though, he was rather proud of the fact that he won.

"Yep, I beat the old pervert too, I'm now the Grandmaster of the School," Ranma told her while showing her the scroll from a distance he knew she could read. He did it casually knowing it would irk her completely that he treated this so casually. He was right, because she planted her face in the floor for what looked to be the second time to him after he told her.

"Oh my, is Grandfather Happosai alright," Kasumi asked. This question got under Ranma's skin somewhat as for the past few months he had been feeling as if nobody under this roof cared about his welfare at all. He didn't want to include Kasumi in that group, but her actions over the last few months told him different. Whenever Akane'd hit him he'd get less food than the others if he didn't apologize, she never inquired about his wellbeing even if it was apparent that he was injured badly, and if he asked if she had any hot water she'd tell him to boil some instead of giving him the ready made kettle. When he asked about it, he'd checked it a few times and sure enough it was full, she'd say it was for 'Uncle Genma' in case he needed it.

"He'll be fine, he said he just needs a few days rest and then he'll be off on his retirement," Ranma informed her.

"What are you on about you baka," Akane asked coolly as she came down the stairs looking fresh from her bath.

"Just the girl I wanted to see," Ranma told her with false cheer, "I hope you're ready for a wedding because you and Ryoga will probably be in front of a priest tomorrow."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Saotome, what are you talking about," Nabiki asked losing her cool. She didn't know a thing about this and things that she didn't know about in her own house _didn't_ happen.

"Oh, didn't you know? Akane here is with Ryoga, unless being naked with a boy in your bed can be taken another way," Ranma said innocently making Akane back up in shock. She looked as if she wanted to run, bash Ranma for peeping or blabbing, or all of the above.

"How did you come by this information," Nabiki asked coolly.

"After she yelled at me when I went up ta apologize tonight I decided to try the window, as I usually do when I hafta apologize, and there she was with Ryoga," Ranma explained.

"That's not proper," Kasumi said in shock.

"At least it wasn't Ranma," Nabiki muttered.

"YOU PERVERT! YOU WERE PEEPING ON ME," Akane yelled pulling out the mallet she had brought downstairs for the occasion of bashing Ranma. Unfortunately her swing didn't connect as she intended and she ended up spinning in a circle before falling on her butt.

"Oh, and Akane, one last thing before I leave this house for good," he told her shocking everyone in the room, "Akane Tendo, as Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts you are forbidden from using the art on any person from now on unless your life or the life of another person is in danger." With his final piece said, and everyone in the room frozen in shock, Ranma bypassed the three sisters and headed up to grab his pack, that hadn't been ever fully unpacked since he moved in, so he could leave. Turning to leave he saw his exit barred by none other than Kasumi who looked at him with a mixture of regret and sadness.

"Was that necessary Ranma," she asked. Old habits die hard after all.

"Yes it was Tendo-san," Ranma replied removing all familiarity he had with her, "She was using the Art to injure those she should have been protecting and she would use it to hurt anyone who didn't agree with her. You may not have seen it, since you hardly leave, but most boys at school have been on the receiving end of her hits more than once. Regardless of whether or not they were guilty."

"Ranma," she began.

"It's Saotome-san," he interrupted making tears come to Kasumi's eyes. As much as it would've pained him six months ago to see that, after the callous treatment of him he found that all he needed was to apply the Soul of Ice and he could deal with her tears without breaking down.

"Saotome-san, do you truly have to leave," she asked hesitantly.

"Why would I want to stay in a house where nobody cares whether I live or die despite the fact that I have saved all of ya at least once? Why would I want to stay in a house where I'm blamed for everything that goes wrong? I used to think ya were different Tendo-san, I thought no matter what happened ya'd always care, but these last few months you proved me wrong," Ranma asked. He could tell each question was like a knife into her heart, especially the last one, but he didn't let it break his resolve to leave.

"I do care about you," she tried.

"If ya cared so much then why didn't ya ask if I was alright when I came limpin' home after everyone, includin' your sister, ganged up on me when I didn't do a damn thing wrong? I ended up seeing Tofu that day, and ya wanna know what he said? It was a damn miracle that I survived! Kuno's sword, yes a real sword, went all the way through and missed everything major. You saw how bad I was that day, but you didn't ask, in fact if I remember right the reason I had to go to Tofu's was because you told me 'don't track anymore blood into the house'. Does that sound like someone who cares about me," Ranma asked. By the end his voice was dripping with sadness. Kasumi herself was on her knees weeping since she remembered that day. Akane had made it home before him and told everyone that Ranma had been flirting with Shampoo. Of course she believed her sister, why wouldn't she? Now that she looked back on it, she saw many instances of Ranma's supposed 'cheating' or 'flirting' and most of the time he was attempting to get out of the mess they caused. The only times he didn't was when a supposed cure was waved in his face.

"Guess I have my answer," Ranma said after a minute of silence, bar Kasumi's weeping, and walked past her on his way out. He didn't care if he had to go through every Tendo on his way out of the house, and he had something to say to each of them. Fortunately he didn't have to go through Nabiki, she had caught his little monologue and it's results. As he was walking out she decided discretion was the better part of valor and tended to Kasumi instead. A swift kick to P-chan got Ryoga out of his way and Akane still appeared to be in shock once he got downstairs. He assumed that Nabiki verified that he was fighting Happosai for the title of Grandmaster tonight and that he had a scroll to prove his claim. The one person he _didn't_ want to see tonight had to be the one coming through the gate as he approached it though.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: I'm turning this into a crossover with Tenchi, but I needed to set some things up first. Technically you won't really even _see_ Tenchi for a few chapters yet, but it is coming. The worlds will be crossing before you meet Tenchi.

Chapter 4

"Son, where are you going," Nodoka asked noticing Ranma's pack as she entered the Tendo compound.

"Anywhere but here," Ranma replied making Nodoka frown.

"Why would you be doing that son? It's not very honorable to walk out when you have an engagement to this family," Nodoka said.

"Considerin' the fact I caught Akane cheatin' on me with Ryoga tonight it's safe to say the engagement is off," Ranma told her with a stone face. He knew with his mother's warped sense of honor that this probably wouldn't come out good.

"Weren't you being manly enough for her," she asked fingering her katana as Ranma expected.

"Why would I wanna be 'manly' with someone who takes every opportunity to hit me when I ain't done anything wrong," he asked her seriously.

"If you have been she wouldn't have gone seeking elsewhere," Nodoka reasoned.

"I ain't gonna touch someone who won't trust me, hits me all the time, and treats me like a piece of property," Ranma told her calmly. He had learned a few things from his dealings with Nabiki and knew of a way to deal with his mother if she attempted to enforce the seppuku pledge for this, not that she really could anyway, but that was beside the point. It wasn't his fault that Akane cheated on him, and it wasn't his fault that his 'father' was an honorless panda.

"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to judge you as," Nodoka said as she began to unsheathe her sword.

"You try pullin' that sword another inch and I'll go to the police for child abuse and neglect," Ranma threatened making Nodoka stop in shock.

"You would shame the Saotome name by bringing our problems to the public," Nodoka asked as if it were the worst sin that could be committed.

"If it's between that and killin' myself, yeah, I ain't gonna kill myself for someone who loves honor more than her own son," Ranma told her. He was putting half his concentration into maintaining the Soul of Ice now because this conversation was hurting him more than he'd like to admit. He didn't want to think that woman who raised him, albeit not that long, didn't care about him, but the proof was right in front of him, she would rather have him dead than happy.

"I see then perhaps you would rather have your father throw you out of the clan," Nodoka asked.

"Sure, if you want the family Art to die with him. He has been forbidden to teach Anything Goes for using it so dishonorably and failing ta uphold the honor of the school," Ranma remarked coolly. He wasn't going to play his final card yet, not if he didn't have to. Nodoka looked quite shocked. She knew Genma wasn't perfect, and granted, she hadn't heard much about the training trip, but to take away his ability to teach the Art?

"Why would Happosai do such a thing," she asked in shock.

"He didn't, I did," he told her, "I won the right to the title of Grandmaster from Happosai tonight in an honest duel."

"Why would you do that to your father," Nodoka shouted.

"Maybe it's because he threw me inta a pit of cats when I was a little kid so many times I lost count! Maybe it's because he sold me to so many families I doubt even _he_ knows how many fiancées I have," Ranma shouted in return. Nodoka looked at Ranma in disbelief at what he was telling her but he wasn't done yet, "MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE HE TOOK ME TO CHINA WITHOUT KNOWING A WORD OF CHINESE AND GOT ME CURSED!"

"He may have gotten you cursed but I cannot believe your father would have sold you to any other families than that Kounji family," Nodoka replied coolly.

"What about Daikoku family? He sold me that time for a bowl of rice, a fish, and TWO DAMN PICKLES," Ranma told her, "He tried to add Kodachi Kuno to my list of fiancées when she offered a bunch of money and objects as a dowry! Every time he's asked he avoids the topic as if you're standing behind him with your katana out!"

"I will not stand here and listen to you bad mouth your father," Nodoka told him sternly.

"Why not," a voice called from the side before Ranma could comment, "It's not like he's lying; besides Ranma can't lie to save his life!"

"Who's there," Nodoka called out, not yet being familiar enough with the people around her son to recognize them by their voices. Ukyo came into what little light was available to the now trio and glared at Nodoka. "You won't believe a bad word against Genma eh? So the fact that he _stole_ the dowry that was supposed to be mine and Ranchan's when we wed while leaving me on the side of the road is okay I guess, considering you've heard that story before and didn't dispute my claim."

"Genma is an honorable man," Nodoka claimed, clutching her sword tighter to herself. It was once again wrapped, but now it appeared she was using it more for comfort than as a threat.

"I don't think he even knows what honor means," Ukyo replied while looking at Nodoka with disgust, "Did she plan on using that on you Ranchan?"

"She was gonna, but I talked her outta it," Ranma replied calmly. Ukyo noticed the faint light blue/white glow around him that usually was associated with the Soul of Ice so she had no doubt that this conversation was more emotionally draining than he was letting on.

"Genma…" Nodoka began only to be cut off.

"Face it sugar, your husband isn't anything but a thief, a spineless coward, a drunk, and a dishonored martial artist," Ukyo told her.

"Why are you so hung up on believing pops is an honorable man," Ranma asked curiously.

"The man I married was honorable, kind, brave, noble, manly, and most of all loving," Nodoka replied with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Well between when you got married and when he took me on that trip he sure as hell changed," Ranma said with a snort, "Unless you consider it kind to toss the boy you raised into a pit of cats to teach him a banned technique that could kill him or make him insane? Do you consider it loving to constantly tell him that his mother was dead and that he was a weak girl? To never show any compassion for his son when he needed it?"

"Please, no more," Nodoka begged falling to her knees just as Kasumi had done earlier.

"Ranma, why'd you say it that way," Ukyo asked curiously. She knew Ranma probably better than anyone and noticed the way he said 'the boy you raised' instead of 'your son'.

"Because I ain't even on the Saotome register, ain't never been, she ain't my mom and Genma ain't my Pops," Ranma replied while looking at Nodoka angrily as she gasped. She looked astonished that he finally found out, she had intended for him to never know.

"Saotome, I suggest you find out _exactly_ what your husband has been up to since he left instead of blindly believing he's the man you married. There's probably hundreds, if not thousands, of charges of theft outstanding on him and Ranma. If you look at the descriptions the ones for Ranma will probably match for Genma, and you _should_ get those changed to Genma, even if I doubt you will," Ukyo told her before getting in one last parting shot, "And you best hope that when Ranma tracks down his real parents that they don't press charges against the both of you for kidnapping and child endangerment." With that said she lead Ranma out of the Tendo compound.

"I'm glad that's over," Ranma commented breathing out a sigh of relief but not dropping the Soul of Ice.

"So is it finally over between you and Akane," Ukyo asked. After she received a nod she nearly shouted, "Thank Kami!"

"You don't have to sound so happy about it," he replied dryly.

"I don't know how much longer I could go on pretending I wanted to marry you," Ukyo told him, "Not that there's anything wrong with you Ranchan, but it'd be like marrying my brother! I'm glad we worked that out before that whole Herb mess."

"Me too Ukyo, thanks for everything," Ranma replied before breaking down. His tenuous hold over the Soul of Ice had broken and all the feelings that he had been holding back were rushing forth. He clutched Ukyo and cried into her shoulder after she hugged him and he started mumbling about catching Akane in bed with Ryoga, and not wanting to hurt anyone. He mumbled that he looked up the Saotome register to find more family and instead found out he had never even been on it. He started asking why nobody cared except her, she knew it was rhetorical, but she still answered him. She whispered into his ear that everything would be fine, and that others cared about him, and that it had to be done eventually. She told him to let it all out, and that he'd feel better once he did. It took a full 10 minutes before he finally calmed down, but once he did he had a small smile on his face.

"Feel better sugar," she asked.

"Yeah, thanks, you better get outta here before Konatsu thinks you're leaving him," Ranma told her with a smile. She gave him a small hug before walking away, completely forgetting the fact she didn't know where he was staying tonight.

**_(Break)_**

****

"There he is," Ranma said to himself. He'd been waiting for Ryoga to leave the dojo because he wanted to use to porker to get himself lost. He didn't know how Ryoga managed it, but that got could get anywhere within a week, although it usually wasn't where he wanted to be, he could get there.

"Don't forget Ryoga, you have to be here in two weeks, if nothing else have someone lead you here so you're on time for our wedding," Akane told him seriously. Her father hadn't been too happy about her relationship with Ryoga when he'd gotten home from watching Ranma win against Happosai, and he was even less pleased when he was informed he no longer had an heir to the dojo. He immediately went about telling them that the wedding was going to be in a fortnight whether they wanted it or not, in his words, "If you like each other enough to be intimate then you like each other enough to be married."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I'm here, nothing could keep me from you," Ryoga told her happily. He was happy that they no longer needed to hide their relationship from everyone, but the reception he got from Kasumi and Nabiki this morning was less than pleasant. He assumed with Nabiki it was only because she hadn't known before, but with Kasumi he was at a complete loss. Akane told him to just give Kasumi some time to come around and she'd be fine with it all, so he let it drop.

Once Ryoga took off down the street, with intentions of finding his home so he could tell his parents about the upcoming wedding, Ranma alighted the rooftops and used a fishing pole to snag Ryoga's bag. He knew with how fast the boy got lost that just following him wouldn't help at all, he needed a sure fire way to stay with the moron. Once he was hooked Ranma jumped to the ground quietly and reeled the line in so he was far enough behind Ryoga to remain out of sight, but close enough that the line wouldn't catch anything. He definitely got his wish about getting lost, less than a mile later he saw Ryoga walk into a void without noticing apparently, so Ranma proceeded to follow him in quickly.

"Boy, you sure do get lost well," Ranma commented to Ryoga once he came out the other side of the void. He saw architecture he'd never seen before, but the basic structure belied a palace of some kind.

"RANMA SAOTOME, BECAUSE OF YOU," Ryoga began to yell only to be interrupted.

"Don't call me that," Ranma told him coldly.

"Huh," Ryoga said confused.

"I'm not, and I ain't never been a Saotome," Ranma told the lost boy. Before either could comment any further alarms started blaring around them and guards flooded the hallway.

"Look, that kids back," one of the guards shouted.

"Arrest him," another shouted charging towards Ryoga making the lost boy high tail it and get lost again. Once Ryoga was out of the picture the guards turned their attention to Ranma who sweatdropped before getting into a loose fighting stance.

"I ain't here ta fight," Ranma told them hoping to actually avoid fighting for once.

"What are you doing in the Royal Palace," a guard asked him while edging closer.

"I was just followin' that moron and ended up here," Ranma retorted, "I didn't mean ta come here!"

"He's lying, he's here to assassinate the Emperor," a paranoid guard shouted causing all the remaining guards to attack simultaneously. Unfortunately Ranma was outnumbered 20 to 1 so he only took out 5 guards with ki blasts and chestnut fists before dropping into the Umi-sen-ken in hopes of getting away. It worked, because the moment he disappeared they immediately ran down the hall in the direction Ranma had been facing. They assumed he had just run really, _really_ fast.

"Glad I read those scrolls," Ranma commented quietly before he began sneaking around looking for an exit so he could get out of the palace. Unfortunately he decided to trust his senses and began walking backwards down the hallway so he could keep an eye out for the guards that had chased him thus far. When he reached a corner he ended up knocking into someone and stumbling forward releasing his hold on the Umi-sen-ken and ultimately revealing himself before he even had a chance to see who he bumped into. When he turned around he saw two women in regal looking robes, one with black hair and a stern looking face. She seemed to be frowning at him. The other had light blue hair and her hands were clasped in front of her and her whole face was lit up with a smile. It didn't take long for Ranma to figure out that, one way or another, he was in trouble.

"YOU'RE SO CUUUUUTE," the light-blue haired one yelled before throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing, effectively cutting off his air supply.

"Can't…breath…world…going…dark," Ranma rasped out.

"Misaki, let the poor boy breath so we can find out who he is and why he is here," the woman with black hair said to the other, who was presumably named Misaki.

"Isn't he just adorable Funaho," Misaki asked as she released the hug and grabbed Ranma by the shoulders to get a better look at him. Ironically it was the only thing keeping him up at the time.

"What is your name young man," Funaho asked sternly.

"R…Ranma," he said as he tried to regain his breath.

"What is your family name Ranma," Funaho pressed.

"Don't know, just found out that my parents aren't my parents," Ranma commented. He figured it would be better to be honest at this point since he didn't want to have anything to do with the Saotome name at any rate.

"Where are you from Ranma," Misaki asked with gleaming eyes. She looked like she was ready to ball any second now.

"Nerima, Japan," he told them standing up a little straighter. He had finally gotten his breath back and wanted to make a slightly better impression, but he wasn't sure why. It was just the presence that the two of them exuded that he shouldn't be disrespectful.

"Japan, isn't that on Earth," Funaho asked.

"Japan is where our children are," Misaki said excitedly, "Do you know Yosho, Ayeka, or Sasami?"

"Um…nope, sorry," Ranma said with a sweatdrop hanging from his head.

"How did you get to Jurai from Earth," Funaho asked. She realized that Misaki asking any important questions at this point wouldn't be possible so she should move the interview along.

"I was just followin' a guy I know that tends ta get lost a lot, figured I could get myself lost for a while and sort through some things," Ranma explained, "Followed the guy right through some kind of tunnel or somethin' and ended up here. Didn't know he could get that lost…"

"Young man, Earth is three months travel by ship alone, do you expect me to believe that you traveled here on foot," Funaho asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Huh? I'm not on Earth anymore? What're you talking about," Ranma asked confused. This made Funaho sweatdrop and Misaki only glomped onto him tighter.

"Ranma, are you seeing anyone," Misaki asked excitedly.

"Um…not at the moment," he answered hesitantly.

"What are you thinking Misaki," Funaho asked worriedly before watching Misaki drag Ranma off as if he were a stuffed toy. "This isn't going to turn out well."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: I don't have access to the later episodes of Tenchi right now to tell me how Azusa, Funaho, and Misaki interact really so please forgive my mistakes. Any errors will be corrected once I learn of them. I'll be getting access to those episodes later this week most likely.

Chapter 5

"How does the search go for the intruder," Azusa asked the guard. They had been getting a series of monthly break-ins by the same boy, and they were at a loss to explain how he even got into the palace let alone how he got out.

"He escaped once again, although this time he arrived with another. We're still looking to see if the other man is still in the palace, he incapacitate several of the guards before escaping," the guard informed Azusa.

"What? There shouldn't be a single man that has that power except a Juraian Noble," Azusa exclaimed in shock.

"My Lord," a sentry called from the doorway, "Lady Funaho, Lady Misaki, and a guest are on their way to meet with you."

"Thank you," Azusa replied before turning his attention back to the guard in front of him. It wasn't like he could keep his wives out anyway; if he tried he'd be paying for it later. "Describe this man for me."

"Yes My Lord," the guard replied before his eyes widened in shock. Funaho, Misaki, and the second intruder just walked into the throne room. Well, the intruder didn't technically walk, he was more dragged by Misaki, but that was beside the point.

"Well, answer already," Azusa yelled in his impatience.

"That's him My Lord," the guard replied before unsheathing his sword and standing in front of the Emperor. This action confused Funaho and Misaki because they hadn't heard of the earlier troubles yet. Ranma, well, he couldn't quite tell what was going on because he was still being drug by Misaki like a kite in the wind. "How dare you be familiar with the Queen," the guard shouted as he knew he had to. He knew from personal experience that once you catch Misaki's eye that nothing will get you free, but it was his duty to act like a pompous idiot, or so his Captain said.

"Dear, what is this man talking about," Funaho asked icily. She had been around Ranma for the better part of two hours now and he had done nothing but act kindly and honorably, he may be a little rough around the edges, but she didn't see why he would set off the guards.

"You know how we've had something of a…problem with an intruder these last few months," Azusa asked. He knew he was on thin ice right now, Funaho's face was already slightly stern, and if she glared he was a dead man.

"What does that have to do with Ranma," Misaki asked with a childlike face. In her mind he was too cute to be evil.

"According to the guards this…Ranma came with the usual intruder and incapacitated several of the guards before escaping," Azusa explained.

"That's PERFECT," Misaki exclaimed making everyone sweatdrop.

"You still haven't explained what you intend for him Misaki," Funaho groaned in exasperation.

"H…help," Ranma pleaded once he got his bearings back. They had stopped in front of a throne and he saw the guard and the king, emperor, whatever sitting there with large sweatdrops falling off the back of their heads.

"Leave us," Azusa told the guard. He saw how pathetic the man in front of him appeared, and while he felt great power from him Azusa could tell that Ranma meant them no harm unless provoked.

"But My Lord," the guard protested.

"I said leave us," Azusa demanded making the guard quickly sheath his sword and hightail it out of there. He wasn't stupid enough to stick around, it wasn't like the Emperor of Jurai needed protection anyway, he had the most power out of anyone except maybe the new first prince that was rumored about. According to the rumors that kid had used the Light Hawk wings to destroy Kagato last week.

"What is this about Misaki," Azusa asked.

"Let's give him to Sasami," she shouted in joy, "He'd be perfect for my little Sasami!" She knew that if Ayeka found Yosho that those two might be wed one day, but Sasami wasn't arranged to marry anyone as of yet.

"Whaddya mean 'give him to Sasami'," Ranma shouted in shock. This caused Misaki to frown at him again, something he had experienced one other time in the last couple hours. It wasn't a pleasant feeling for Ranma, not that he could ever really handle dealing with angry or upset women in the first place.

"I believe she means she wants you to be betrothed to my youngest daughter," Azusa explained. He could guess what Ranma had assumed, and he couldn't quite blame the lad for that assumption either. Because when Misaki said 'give' it sounded like they were just going to give Ranma to Sasami as a slave of some sort.

"I ain't marryin' nobody," Ranma said defiantly. He'd just gotten out of one fiancée mess, sans Shampoo who he still had to take care of, and he didn't want to get stuck in another. Plus, he still had to find out who his parents were. Of course, this was probably not the smartest thing to say when faced with an already upset Misaki, because she began to glare at him.

"What…Did…You…Say," she asked angrily.

"I'm sorry pretty lady," Ranma replied quickly heavily sweatdropping. He'd learned his lesson earlier when Misaki had forced him up against a wall. Funaho had quickly whispered into his ear the appropriate response before Misaki let loose the power she had been building up. While Ranma was dealing with Misaki Funaho was whispering in Azusa's ear and explaining everything she had learned about the young man in the last two hours.

"Ranma is it," Azusa asked, wanting to put the younger man at ease.

"Um, yes sir," Ranma replied hesitantly.

"My wife tells me that you are from Earth and that you are searching for your parents," Azusa asked. He wanted to make sure that what he heard was clear.

"Yes sir, I uh, just found out that the people I thought were my parents weren't. I wasn't even on their family register," Ranma explained.

"We, my two wives and I, were preparing to venture to Earth soon to speak to my son about an incident that just came to our attention. You will be accompanying us so that you may be returned to Earth," Azusa commanded.

"Uh, thanks," Ranma replied. Misaki was still making him plenty nervous even though she was all smiles and clinging onto his arm at this point. Of course, he was always nervous when a woman was clinging onto his arm.

"Later this evening I wish to speak to you about an important matter, I will have someone show you to a room, please remain there until you are sent for," Azusa told him. He wanted to talk to Ranma without the presence of his wives because he figured that there might be a way to talk Ranma into this whole mess. He knew Misaki wouldn't give up until Ranma agreed to be married to Sasami, but if he could convince Ranma to be a bodyguard or something like that for now then he might be more open to it in the future.

"Sure," Ranma said before making his way towards the butler that was now waiting at the door to the throne room.

"You cannot be seriously thinking about betrothing that Earthling to Sasami," Azusa asked Misaki in near disgust.

"What…Exactly…Is wrong with Earthlings," Funaho asked coldly with a glare. He noticed this and saw Misaki frowning at him. He knew he was in the doghouse for sure now, he just _had_ to keep forgetting that Funaho was originally from Earth.

"N..Nothing dear," Azusa assured her quickly, perhaps a little too quickly.

"I support Misaki's choice in this. In the time I've spent around Ranma he has proven to be kind and honorable, perhaps rough around the edges, but that can be fixed easily enough," Funaho told him coolly.

"You keep complaining about Sasami not having enough protection since she hasn't been trained enough," Misaki pointed out seriously. It was a rare serious moment for her when she wasn't dealing with politics meaning Azusa paid close attention to what she had to say.

"You are correct, and I am even considering asking that young man to be her body guard providing he passes a few test," Azusa replied a little easier. He knew this wasn't an argument he was going to win so he conceded that point in the face of his two wives in the hopes that the argument would end. Thankfully it did, and his wives left after telling him that if he didn't convince Ranma he would be spending two years on the couch…instead of the one year he had already earned.

**_(Break)_**

****

"So what's it like livin' in a palace," Ranma asked in an attempt to make small talk with the butler.

"It is quite nice, we are treated fairly well by most nobles and our pay is quite considerable considering the size of the palace that we have to clean and traverse to serve," the butler responded happily. He was always happy to 'talk shop' with someone.

"What're," Ranma began before being cut off by a shout.

"KENJI YAMAKI WHAT ON JURAI ARE YOU DOING HERE! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PREPARING TO MEET YOUR INTENDED," a woman shouted as she stalked towards the two, "AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR HAIR?"

"Are you Kenji," Ranma whispered to the butler. He had thought the butler introduced himself as Jiro, but he could've been wrong.

"No, but now that I recall, you do look quite a bit like Lord Kenji," Jiro whispered back.

"Um, I'm sorry lady, but I ain't this Kenji person," Ranma replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck. The woman seemed to be in a towering rage and he honestly didn't want to deal with any more angry females today.

"OF COURSE YOU ARE KENJI! THERE ISN'T ANY OTHER PERSON ON JURAI THAT IS A COPY OF YOUR FATHER," she snapped back.

"Ya mean there are _two_ people who look like me," Ranma asked curiously before deciding to nip it in the bud, "Look lady, I'm Ranma from Earth, I don't know no Kenji or his pops, so ya best look somewhere else for him."

"What," she asked in shock before turning to Jiro, "Is this true?"

"Yes Lady Ayame, in fact he will be accompanying the Emperor to Earth when he and his wives make the trek there later this week," Jiro told her.

"…Ranma, how old are you," she asked a bit nervously.

"18," Ranma replied without hesitation. He didn't see why the question would make the woman nervous, nor could he see why his answer would make her faint, but both did and he found his arms full of an unconscious woman. "Um, Jiro, any suggestions about what ta do?"

"Let us take her back to her rooms in the palace," Jiro suggested before leading Ranma in the direction Ayame had come from. About halfway to their destination they were stopped by what appeared to be Ranma's twin.

"Who are you and what are you doing with my mother," the man, presumably Kenji, demanded.

"She fainted, we was just takin' her back ta her room," Ranma replied before studying the other man curiously. It seemed Kenji was doing the same thing and neither one could come up with a satisfactory answer to their questions.

"I ask again, who are you," Kenji demanded.

"Name's Ranma," Ranma replied seriously with his eyes down to slits, "Who're you?"

"I am Kenji Yamaki," Kenji answer mirroring Ranma's pose, sans the woman, and then began circling Ranma suspiciously. "What are you doing in the palace?"

"I was followin' a rival of mine and ended up here, dun ask me how we got from Earth to Jurai, but we did. The Emperor's gonna take me back ta Earth with him later this week," Ranma answered, and Jiro nodded his head to imply that the story was true so Kenji wouldn't question it further.

"Follow me," Kenji told them coldly before stalking off towards his parent's suite. Jiro and Ranma nodded, if only so they could drop of Ayame, and followed Kenji the rest of the way to the suite. Once they got inside Ranma deposited Ayame on the couch and looked at Jiro to see if they could leave only to see a man looking not too many years older than himself looking at him in shock.

"Alright, what's goin' on here," Ranma asked angrily.

"H-how is this possible," the older man asked.

"What're you talking about," Ranma and Kenji shouted in unison shaking up the older man.

"You…You were sent to Earth! You shouldn't have been able to get back here," he shouted angrily.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN' ABOUT," Ranma shouted. He was getting angry now. Something was going on and nobody seemed to want to clue him in.

"Father, do you know this man," Kenji asked suspiciously.

"He is your half brother," Kenji's father answered shocking everyone present. "I had an affair and _he_ was the result. Your mother demanded I get rid of him, so I sent him to Earth. I assumed it was far enough away and primitive enough that he would never make it back."

"So you're sayin' that cause ya couldn't keep it in yer pants I had to get sent ta Earth and get tortured," Ranma asked angrily. He had wanted to find his parents, and he was hoping that Genma had stolen him or something and it would be a happy reunion, but this dashed those hopes.

"Yes, you should have died there too," the man replied coldly.

"Lord Seiji," Jiro exclaimed in shock, "You know our laws, any child is to be cared for regardless! You should have given him to a family that would have taken him like Lord Yamata and his wife!"

"Shut up slave," Seiji yelled, "I won't be lectured by the help!"

"Well Jiro, I think it's time fer us ta go," Ranma commented before walking towards the door without a glance at the others in the room. "Wouldn't want the Emperor ta get pissed cause I wasn't in my room when I was summoned."

"What," Kenji and Seiji exclaimed, "You're seeing the Emperor!"

"Who do ya think is takin' me back ta Earth," Ranma commented before walking out the door leaving the two men in shock. Not waiting for Jiro Ranma began walking quickly towards where they had met Ayame initially figuring that Jiro would catch up to him there if nothing else.

"Lord Ranma, please wait," Jiro shouted as he attempted to catch up. The way he called out made Ranma stop cold.

"Please don't call me 'Lord' Jiro," Ranma asked sadly, "They don't want me, my pops and mom on Earth dun want me, so I guess I'm on my own."

"Don't worry Ranma," Jiro replied once he caught up, "I'm sure that once this is explained to the Emperor something will be done about it."

"I ain't gonna say anything ta him, it's a family matter, and as my mom used ta tell me, family matters are ta be kept private," Ranma responded with a hint of despair in his voice.

"I must inform him of this, it is part of my duty to the Emperor to report any and all misconduct by the nobles that is discovered so that they may be dealt with swiftly," Jiro told Ranma, "You may not like it, but the Yamaki family has done something unforgivable and must be punished for their actions."

"I understand, it's yer duty, just like mine's ta protect the innocent," Ranma replied. He wanted to argue with Jiro about it, but couldn't muster up the strength to do it right now so just agreed with him. "Hey Jiro, what's in that room?"

"Oh, that's where the space trees are kept prior to being partnered with someone," Jiro commented before realizing this is the first time Ranma had asked about part of the castle and became curious, "Why do you ask Ranma?"

"I'm feelin' a pull, or somethin' callin' me, I dun know. It's just somethin' tellin' me ta go in there," Ranma replied with a dazed voice before walking towards the doors like a man on a mission. Jiro hurriedly grasped his shirt in an attempt to keep Ranma from venturing in, only to be drug along for the ride. The doors opened of their own accord allowing the two men entry into the area that was supposed to be locked with the exception of ceremonies. Jiro noticed Ranma seemed to be walking towards a specific tree, one of the original space trees to be exact, and he upped his efforts to get Ranma to turn around.

"Ranma, we aren't supposed to be in here, we'll get in trouble," Jiro exclaimed nervously.

"Kaikou," Ranma said softly when he had reached the tree. Jiro noticed a line of light connecting one of the branches to Ranma's forehead and really began to panic. This was the last of the original space trees to need a new partner, and the honor was highly sought after. If it was found out by the nobles that Ranma was chosen when their children were not…Ranma would have quite a few problems to deal with.

"What are you doing in here," a voice shouted from the doorway making Jiro jump.

"We are in troooouuuuble," Jiro commented before his head dropped, and the last thing he saw before closing his eyes to wait for the next shout to come was Ranma's bracers become wooden bracers that were to be his keys for the ship. He didn't get to see the symbols appearing on Ranma's forehead however, but the guard at the door did, and he gasped in shock before running to get more guards and send someone to inform Emperor Azusa.

A/N: What should Ranma's markings look like? I'm not creative enough to think of that. Next time will cover the rest of the time on Jurai and we'll look in on Nerima.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: Like I said, don't hold yer breath on the updates. Anywho, I probably woulda updated sooner since I pretty much have the story planned out except the ending, but I didn't plan on that tidbit at the end where the guard notices them. Took me a while to figure out a loophole there. I know, I know, I'm slow, forgive me. I've also been reading less and less Ranma and Tenchi lately so it's hard for me to get in the mood to write on this story. Have another story that I'm thinking about starting, but even if I do I won't start posting it until this one is complete. Won't be a Ranma story that's for sure, unless it's crossed with Ranma.

BTW, just so ya'll know, I don't hold off on chapters just to get more reviews. I write for myself, to get the ideas expressed, and to get better at writing. The reviews are a bonus, especially constructive criticism, but I won't ever request them. I also won't do review responses because I got burned due to those on an old account of mine.

Forgive the grammar, English is my first language, and we all know that people who are raised speakin' it can't speak English for nuttin' cause we use too much slang. (wink)

Chapter 6

"Where did they go," Captain Fujita yelled as he came up to the guard that was supposed to be ensuring that the two people by the Royal Space Trees didn't get away.

"T-they j-just…disappeared," the guard stuttered. He had been watching the events unfold and was flabbergasted when upon arriving a blue light enveloped the two men and they vanished into thin air. Unfortunately at the distance from the doors a positive identification was impossible so they were counting on being able to apprehend the individuals to find out exactly what happened. Now that wasn't a possibility and they had a rogue Space Tree out there with an unknown user, even worse it was one of the most powerful space trees.

"What do you mean they disappeared Lieutenant," Captain Fujita snarled. This was not his day at all. First they had another intrusion by that same boy, this time with an accomplice, then they lost both of them while sustaining injuries to several of his men, only to find out that one of the intruders was being led around by the two Queens, and finally the last original space tree was 'stolen'. Even though space tress cannot be technically stolen, without knowing the person and their allegiances this was shaping up to be a crisis.

"B…blue light, then gone," the lieutenant replied finally regaining his wits, "When I returned from summoning backup they were enveloped in a blue light and then they just vanished!"

"Are you absolutely sure that Kaikou chose someone," Fujita asked as he massaged his temples. He needed to have all the facts straight and the lieutenant before him hadn't been too clear earlier.

"Absolutely sir," he replied, "Before I left to summon help he was transformed into his battle armor and the ship's key(s) were affixed onto him. They were in the form of bracers, just as they were for the original owner."

"Can you give me a description of either of the two men," Fujita asked resignedly. A small part of him had hope that his soon-to-be born son would be the one to partner with Kaikou. Fujita was from a minor royal line, and were rarely called to be linked with space trees, but it did happen every few generations.

"No sir, they were at too great a distance," the lieutenant answered apologetically.

"Return to your office and write up a report about this, I need to inform the Emperor about the happenings here," Fujita ordered before spinning on his heel and walking towards the throne room.

"That was close," Ranma commented. Once everyone had left the area he and Jiro had been returned to where they were originally and his battle armor had deactivated itself so it wouldn't give itself away. Although from what he saw he really liked it.

It wasn't his normal Chinese clothes, but it was loose and comfortable without any extra fringes, baubles, or cosmetic additions that would be absolutely pointless. He kept his traditional slippers, although they were a navy blue instead of black, and his pants remained the same style just changing to navy blue. He could tell that it would take much more to even rip the pants than any of his previous pairs. His shirt was low v-neck and sleeve-less. It continued being primarily navy-blue, but it was trimmed in a light blue that matched his eyes, or so any girl would tell him. Ranma didn't really pay attention to the colors, he just knew that he'd easily be able to fight in the outfit. It provided more protection than his typical clothes, while not hindering his movements in the slightest. What he couldn't see was that when he was in battle armor he had a light-blue symbol on his forehead that looked like and inverted triangle inlaid over the top of a circle.

"Ugh, what happened," Jiro asked as he regained consciousness.

"Hey Jiro, finally awake," Ranma asked with some amusement.

"Ranma! We need to get out of here before we're noticed," Jiro practically shouted.

"That won't be a problem, just keep it down," Ranma replied motioning with his hands for Jiro to lower his voice, "It'll be a lot easier to get back out if yer not attractin' attention due to your yellin'."

"Oh, right," Jiro muttered sheepishly.

"Uh Jiro, can I ask ya something," Ranma asked as they made their way towards the exit.

"Of course Ranma," Jiro responded, making sure to keep his volume lower.

"Is bein' partnered with a tree a big deal," Ranma asked hesitantly. He still wasn't sure about all this, and Kaikou didn't have long to fill him in on anything either.

"Not usually, unless it's one of the or..igin..als…oh boy. I completely forgot about that," Jiro muttered.

"Forgot about what," Ranma asked not liking the sound of Jiro's voice.

"Ranma, you were partnered with the last of the original space trees. You will be, as soon as people find out, a 'hot' item. Especially politically. A lot of people are going to be angry for the first, oh, hundred years, but even while they're angry they'll still be after you for political gain. Whichever 'camp' you endorse will gain influence," Jiro explained.

"Ah, but won't that be kinda difficult? The Emperor's takin' me home soon," Ranma pointed out.

"Oh Kami, I forgot, we need to get you to your quarters soon, I'm sure that the Emperor will send someone to check up on you as soon as he hears about what has happened," Jiro said before quickly grabbing Ranma's arm and practically dragging him towards his room.

"Alright already, sheesh, but can ya keep this quiet? I dun want everyone knowing about what happened," Ranma asked.

"Well, I won't go out of my way to inform anyone, but if I'm asked directly I cannot lie about it," Jiro promised.

"Thanks," Ranma replied knowing it was the best he could get out of his new friend. Pretty soon Jiro had Ranma tucked into his quarters and was quickly making his way back to the throne room. He may have agreed to keep quiet about the space tree incident, but there was another matter that needed to be reported immediately. Quickly gaining entrance Jiro power-walked his way up to where Azusa sat and dropped down onto one knee bowing respectfully.

"My Lord, I have something of an extremely important nature to report," Jiro called out once Azusa gave him the okay to speak.

"What is so important," Azusa asked gruffly.

"It is in regards to our laws of child abandonment and neglect. Earlier when I was guiding Lord Ranma back to his temporary quarters Lady Ayame mistook Lord Ranma for her son Lord Kenji. During the course of the argument we persuaded her that Lord Ranma was, in fact, not her son Lord Kenji and she fainted," Jiro began explaining.

"Hurry up," Azusa snapped. Something dealing with child abandonment or neglect was a serious charge. He wanted only the pertinent facts.

"Of course My Lord, as you wish. We returned Lady Ayame to her suite along with Lord Kenji only to be confronted with Lord Seiji who loudly proclaimed that he had sent Ranma to Earth after he was born out of an affair and Lord Ayame demanded that Lord Seiji get rid of the child. He declared that he assumed Earth was far enough away and primitive enough that Ranma would never return," Jiro quickly explained. He didn't dare look up to see the look on Azusa's face, because he knew it wouldn't be pretty, "He also told Lord Ranma that he was expecting Lord Ranma to die on Earth after Lord Ranma questioned him about his motives."

"Are there any facts supporting this with the exception of the likeness," Azusa asked after a moment. He had needed to calm himself after what he heard. He had been the one to enact those laws because of his personal views on the matter, and that was another reason that he wanted to find a guard for Sasami.

"There is My Lord, may I approach? I fear speaking of the matter too loudly," Jiro replied. _Sorry Ranma, hopefully your secret doesn't go further than him and his wives, he never could keep a secret from them,_ Jiro thought apologetically.

"If you must," Azusa responded with a sigh. Jiro approached and told him the story of what happened in the room with the Royal Space Trees making Azusa's eyes nearly fall right out of his head in shock.

"Did he say a name," Azusa demanded.

"Yes My Lord, when he touched it the only thing he said was 'Kaikou'," Jiro replied before resuming his place in front of the Emperor.

"GUARDS," Azusa yelled loudly causing the two near the doors to nearly fall over in shock before they ran up to the throne.

"Yes My Lord," they asked in harmony.

"I want Lord Seiji and Lady Ayame taken into custody at once on the charges of child abandonment, neglect, and attempted murder of a member of the royal family," Azusa shouted angrily.

"YES MY LORD," they shouted in unison before spinning on their heels and running for the door to inform some guards to go make the actual arrest considering they couldn't really leave they're post. "Did Lord Seiji say anything about the mother other than it was not Lady Ayame?"

"No My Lord," Jiro replied before thinking for a moment, "I do remember around the time that would have been Lord Ranma's birth that a Juraian born maid was with child. Shortly after birth neither she nor her child were seen again. It was presumed that she moved away."

"Fetch Ranma, and on your way out I request that you inform the guards to question Lord Seiji about the maid. By the sounds of things she didn't make the trip with Ranma," Azusa said coldly. He didn't take kindly to _any_ of the members of the court treating the help that way. They had previously dealt with members of the court ordering the butlers and maids to be _help_ them in their quarters doing things that were not officially required by them. Of course that was stopped shortly after it began by his father. That was during the transition from the help being slaves to pain workers.

"Yes My Lord, at once," Jiro replied before standing up and hurrying out of the room, but not before informing the guards of the new addition to the orders.

**_(Break)_**

_Meanwhile in Nerima-Ku, Japan_

"Oh my, things have certainly gotten worse since Ranma-kun left," Kasumi mutters to herself as she looks at the newest devastation caused by a duel Ryoga barely won against a dojo destroyer. It had only been a few days since Ranma had left (Ranma took a couple days before deciding to get lost), and things were looking bleak. Once word had spread that Ranma Saotome was no longer protecting the Tendo Dojo they had no less than three dojo destroyers a day. Akane handled the first day rather well, except for a twisted ankle, and luckily Ryoga managed to find his way back that night. He started handling all challenges for the dojo, but instead of limiting the amount of destruction, like Ranma had, he in fact caused more.

The dojo itself was barely holding itself up, so much so, that the shrine for their mother was brought into the house itself so the eventual collapse of the dojo wouldn't destroy it. Whenever Soun would wail for Nabiki to pay for repairs she would just glare at him coldly and ask him what money she was supposed to use. Kasumi could tell that Nabiki missed Ranma, if only for the money she made off of him, and the limited, as it was now being shown, expense of his upkeep. The house itself was fairing better, but not by much. Ryoga remembered to use doors…most of the time. He still punched his way through a wall occasionally when he thought he was lost and Nabiki would just hand over a bill to him for damages. Of course she had squeezed every last yen out of the name Ranma Saotome that she could by selling the very last information she had on him to everyone who would buy it, but it wasn't enough. Not with all the damages being accrued.

Soun and Genma kept wailing about ungrateful boys who should learn their place. Of course, Genma's wailing was only heard until he was dragged off in handcuffs after Nodoka turned him in once she got a report back from a private investigator she hired. It hadn't taken long to get the information needed because she had a general idea of every area they had been to. As Ranma promised, Happosai was back up and ready to terrorize in a couple days time. He immediately packed all of his 'silky darlings' and bounded off for places unknown while shouting about finally being retired.

Ukyo, according to Nabiki, had just glared at everyone else in the NWC and did her best to stay away from them all. Especially the night Ranma left, while Kasumi had been on friendly terms with the young woman before, now Ukyo just glared and walked in the opposite direction if she ever saw Kasumi out and about. This tore at Kasumi's heart even more because she knew she deserved it. She felt immensely guilty about the way she treated Ranma in these last few months, and upon a lot of reflection she noticed that while he did insult Akane, he usually didn't start it. Oh there were a few times he did, but Akane was the one who usually began the war of words ending with some blunt object or mallet-sama being used on Ranma. It had taken a lot of effort for Kasumi to come to grips with the fact that every person in her family, herself included, was responsible for the way Akane treated Ranma. They never scolded Akane for hitting Ranma when he didn't deserve it, and they even went as far as making up excuses and demanding that Ranma apologize. Sure, Kasumi never came out and demanded an apology, but in a way what she did was worse.

Akane had promised, on her honor, that she wouldn't strike someone in anger again. Kasumi let her break that promise the same day she made it without any repercussions, not even a scolding. And then the way she treated him in the last three months was reprehensible! She knew just by looking at him when he came back that day that he was seriously wounded, but she did her best to not care about what happened to him at that point that she actually told him it was more important that he not bleed on the floor! Kasumi wasn't sure if she ever could forgive herself for that, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She knew that if she talked to Ranma and apologized again, once he had time to cool off, that he would shrug it off and tell her it wasn't a big deal, but she wasn't prepared to ask for that forgiveness. She didn't feel she deserved it.

Despite the constant dojo battles and Akane's injury Ryoga and Akane's relationship appeared to be blossoming now that they didn't need to hide it anymore. Of course this also meant that Ryoga got a little taste of being in Ranma's shoes as he got hit whenever Akane was angered. When this happened he would always blame Ranma, even though the poor man was nowhere to be found.

Shampoo and Cologne had apparently closed up shop to go look for the wayward man, because according to Nabiki Cologne had told her that just because he wasn't a Saotome didn't mean he was no longer Shampoo's husband.

"Oh Ranma-kun, I hope you're safe and happy, wherever you are," Kasumi whispered before wiping a single tear from her cheek and getting back to making dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: I'm probably gonna catch some flak for this chapter, but it's been planned out since I originally planned out the story. Well, not the length in time between chapters, but I just didn't have the ambition to do any writing. Especially with some of the flames I got, all I'm gonna say is if ya don't like it don't read it. Constructive criticism is great, I love it, but leaving an ANONYMOUS review asking whether or not I've even read Ranma is just BS. I pointed out that this is an AU and that the characters will be OOC. They had to be to set up the story how I wanted it.

**Important:** 'Bout the whole charge about attempted murder on a royal family member, if I remember correctly, and I'm not saying I do, all the Lords and Ladies of Jurai are pretty much royalty just far removed from the throne. That's where the title Lord or Lady comes from. Also, the trees are the Royal trees, and I believe Ayeka said that the royal family members are called to bond to the trees when it is time. Again, not sure, but I think that's how it works.

Geez, I'm finding myself having to explain a buncha stuff here. Okay, pretty much right away yer gonna meet crew for the ship, which you'll never see in the Tenchi series. At least on Juraian ships. I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that normally there is a crew, especially on a ship as large as the Emperor's, but when Ayeka and Sasami ran away they left most of work to the tree itself and her guardians as they didn't want to be caught. Since they spent most of the trip in cryostasis there wasn't much need of a crew, but if the people are gonna be awake and actually be productive, as the leader of an entire world would need to be, I'm gonna assume he needs a crew on his ship.

Oh yeah, just realized one of my mistakes with story continuity. I know there's a few, but this ones minor so I don't need ta do anything but tell ya. Ranma's tree is Kaikou-oh instead of just Kaikou. It took thinking about Funaho and Funaho-oh before I realized that. I know there's a few other mistakes that I'll have to go back and fix once the story is complete, like the fact that Tenchi's ability was Top Secret and nobody should have found out about it. Dun know if I'm gonna fix that, or say that there was a leak in intelligence. For now just assume it was a leak.

BTW, thanks ta everyone who reviewed and left constructive criticism or encouraging reviews! You guys are the best.

Chapter 7

"My Lord, we just received a priority message from Jurai," a nameless communications officer reported.

"What is it," Azusa asked peevishly. He was getting quite sick of dealing with Ranma and couldn't wait to get to Earth so he wouldn't need to deal with the brat anymore.

"They've finally broke Seiji and gotten the requested information. It seems that Lord Ranma's mother was a maid in the castle 18 years ago. When Seiji learned of the birth of the child he had the child sent to Earth to hopefully die and the woman killed and her body disposed of," the officer reported with an audible gulp.

"Have someone inform Ranma of this," Azusa began only to be interrupted by a 'ahem'. "Y-yes dear?" Now, nobody would dare call the Emperor of Jurai a coward, especially to his face, but it is well known that either of his wives can easily put him in his place. Women can train their men quite easily in 4,000 years.

"I believe Misaki or I should inform Lord Ranma of the news," Funaho 'suggested'. "After all, it appears nobody else on this ship would care to." Azusa looked around at the crew and found that his wife was more or less correct, the only crew members that looked eager were the few females he could see, and they tended to keep them far away from Ranma as much as possible after an incident involving honey, feathers, whipped cream, and a lot of cherries. It should also be mentioned Ranma wasn't a willing participant and was seen attempting to run away the entire time.

"Very well," he replied gruffly. It grated on his nerves that his wives got along so well with the boy, but he supposed it was only natural considering they wanted to engage him to Sasami. Now he just needed to figure out a way to trick Ranma into fighting his great grandson, because he knew that Ayeka and Sasami wouldn't be willing to come home right away. Oh he'd have to bargain until they agreed to wager on a battle, and he had Seriyou lined up as Ayeka's fiancé and willing combatant. He knew that would be a battle that his great grandson would win without much difficulty if the boy could create the light hawk wings though.

"We will return soon," Funaho told him with an annoyed tone. She didn't like it when he was gruff with her and she certainly made her displeasure known to him every time he was. With the Juraian life span adding two weeks to an existing punishment of sleeping on the couch was like adding a day to a normal human. So Azusa was now spending just over 2 years on the couch instead of just under. Misaki gave Funaho a nod of agreement before following her towards the guest room that Ranma was most likely in. During the first few days of the trip Ranma hadn't really made any friends on the ship due to…some odd behavior. He seemed to jump around the ship non-stop singing a strange song that's only words were, "Never gonna be a girl again!" Nobody quite understood this, and it got under just about everyone's skin, well, Misaki thought it was cute, but she was the only one. In fact, he had only just settled down yesterday and the crew was still quite wary of him.

Knock, knock

"Yeah, come in," Ranma called out. When Funaho and Misaki entered they saw Ranma putting his shirt on, which caused them both to stop for a moment and admire his muscles before they were covered by Ranma's typical chinese clothes.

"Good morning Ranma," Funaho said regally while Misaki squealed and hugged him until he turned blue. Unfortunately, from Ranma's standpoint, Misaki didn't let go. She only loosened her grip while seating him on the bed.

"Good morning Lady Funaho, Lady Misaki, whatcha need," Ranma asked warily. He'd heard Seriyou bragging about being able to fight Azusa's grandson, and he was worried that he'd be asked to fight once Seriyou lost. Not that Ranma held any notions that he'd lose, but he only fought in the defense of himself and others, never as the aggressor.

"Ranma, we have some news that's just come from Jurai, and it's not good," Funaho told him seriously. Ranma's face immediately became an emotionless mask as he applied the soul of ice. He knew that this information had something to do with him otherwise they wouldn't have put it like that even _if_ they told him.

"What is it," Ranma asked not aware that Misaki had been forced to let go due to a slight aura of cold surrounding him.

"We've found out what happened to your mother," Funaho began before bracing herself. She had no idea how he was going to take this, "According to the report we received Seiji has confessed to sending you to Earth after you were born and murdering your mother."

"Where's her body," Ranma asked with a slight edge to his voice. He had never known a loving parent and now his only chance at getting to know one was taken away by an arrogant Juraian noble.

"They are working on retrieving her right now, and unfortunately they didn't tell us where he said he…put her body," Funaho attempted to say delicately.

"What are they going to do with him," Ranma growled. He'd let go of the soul of ice by this point and a corona of red was surrounding him and scorching the bed.

"He's to be put to death after your mothers remains are found," Funaho replied trying to drown out Misaki's whimpers. Apparently she'd gotten slightly burned when she touched Ranma's aura.

"Let me have a piece of him first," Ranma growled practically feral, "He killed my mother! I want first crack at his punishment."

"I will see what I can do," Funaho told him in an attempt to calm him. She had never seen Ranma angry before and if this was the tip of the iceberg as it appeared to be then she never wanted to see it. Once Ranma's aura was pulled back inside himself Misaki immediately latched on again before practically shoving his head against her chest and stroking his hair like you would to a child. Ranma gave Funaho a puppy dog eyed look in hopes of getting free, unfortunately he wasn't very good at that look, so she just ended up laughing at him quietly. Soon they had extracted a promise that he'd talk to them if he needed someone to talk to and they left Ranma alone to go over what they had told him in the comfort of solitude. _Seiji, you _will _pay for what you did to my mother and me, I dun care how long it takes me, I will make you pay for your crimes,_ Ranma silently vowed to himself.

_**(Break)**_

_Two and a half months later, just above Earth_

"I dun told ya, I ain't gonna learn ta use a weapon," Ranma said quite agitatedly.

"It is the legacy of Jurai, you must learn it, all guards, and even the royal family, are required to learn the basics of it," Azusa pressed. They'd been going back and forth over this issue for the last week or so any time they talked for more than two minutes. Azusa wanted Ranma to learn Juraian sword techniques while Ranma was very vocal in his refusals.

"Besides, I already got the basics of swords down," Ranma protested, "Pops…I mean Genma made me learn it so I could defend against it."

"Whatever _earthling_ sword style you know is nothing compared to the might of the Juraian style," Azusa growled.

"I dun know, Sensei Katsuhito was regarded as the best swordsman since the samurai," Ranma said before leaving the bridge. He wanted to get his last few things packed before they landed so he wouldn't need to worry about it. Luckily he had perfected Mouse's hidden weapons technique in the last few months so he could store his things in stuff space and wouldn't need to worry about lugging it about unless he wanted to wear it for weight training like he used to. Ranma was glad that he'd told Azusa he'd fight Tenchi only if necessary. What Ranma meant and what Azusa believed Ranma meant were two different things. If Tenchi was physically abusing or restraining the Princesses then Ranma'd do something about it, but if they were all living together peacefully then Azusa was out of luck getting Ranma to fight. Well, unless his great grandson challenged Ranma, then there was no way he'd back out of the fight.

The twenty minutes or so that he had to wait for his turn at introductions seemed like forever to Ranma, but finally he was transported down the dock that Azusa was standing on. With a quick cursory glance Ranma saw that Seriyou was floating in the lake, apparently he lost spectacularly. One face made Ranma stop for a full minute before he sputtered in shock.

"SENSEI," Ranma shouted looking straight at Katsuhito. He'd learned quickly never to call Katsuhito anything but that or a derivative of it, it was painful to do so.

"Hmmm, do I know you," Katsuhito asked curiously.

"I studied under you 10 years ago," Ranma said with a bow, "Does the name Ranma Saotome ring a bell?"

"Ah, now I remember," Katsuhito replied with a look that made cats envious before several things came together in his mind, "How did you manage to find yourself on Jurai?"

"I followed one of my rivals, didn't know he could get himself lost that far though," Ranma snorted.

"Let us continue this later, it looks like my father wants us to hurry along," Katsuhito suggested seeing Azusa ready to burst a blood vessel finding out that Ranma now had a sure fire way out of the lessons he wanted to force on the boy.

"Sure thing Sensei," Ranma replied excitedly. Out of all of his past sensei's Katsuhito was by far his favorite. He had treated him like his own grandson for the time that he was there, even though he worked Ranma hard and taught him many things. It was probably the best two month stretch Ranma had on the road.

"Eh hem, as I was saying, you may stay if, and only if, Tenchi can beat both of your suitors," Azusa said aggravated.

"I dun think so," Ranma said from his spot beside Azusa, "'Member what I told ya? Only if I had ta, and from what I see these girls are treated pretty well here, if anythin' I feel sorry for your great grandson instead of the girls."

"So Sasami, what do you think of your future fiancé," Misaki asked happily. She didn't think that introduction could've gone much better.

"WHAT," everyone from the Masaki home shouted in shock. They had assumed that both suitors were for Ayeka and she would need to choose one of them, not that one was for Sasami as well. Before anyone else could make a comment Ranma walked over to Sasami and kneeled down so he was eye to eye with her.

"Hi, the name's Ranma. Anyway Sasami, I dun think ya gotta worry about the whole marriage thing right now, seein' as your still young it'd be a while anyway," Ranma pointed out when Sasami looked nervous. "The only, and I mean only, reason I agreed to come here was to be more like a bodyguard and friend, not a fiancé. Had enough of those back in Nerima," Ranma muttered the last part before continuing, "They said ya needed one and it's a martial artists duty ta protect those that need it."

"Really, you want to be friends," Sasami asked with huge glistening eyes, when Ranma nodded she threw her arms around his neck surprising him. "YEAH," Sasami shouted in joy. This made Ranma chuckle before he hesitantly returned the hug. He wasn't quite used to physical displays of emotion, but Misaki had been doing her best to help him with that. Or at least that's what he assumed given how he had more hugs in the last three months than in his entire life, Amazon glomps excluded.

"Father, why don't you stay for a few days," Katsuhito suggested hoping to change the topic before anyone blew up. He knew the people in his home well, and he figured it wouldn't take much for them to jump down Ranma's throat over this 'engagement'. Besides, he knew that his father would want another chance to convince him to take the throne, as well as catch up with his daughters, and it was only polite to invite him after all. A quick look at Funaho and Misaki from Azusa told him that if he didn't accept he would be in even more trouble than he was now.

"Thank you Yosho, I think we will," Azusa ground out eventually.

"Oh Ranma, let me introduce you to everyone," Sasami said excitedly before dragging him around to make introductions. "This is my sister Ayeka, and that's Ryoko, they fight over Tenchi all the time. The boy they're pulling on is Tenchi Misaki, and that over there with the bright red hair is Washu. She's the smartest person in the whole Universe! Mihoshi's inside getting cleaned up, you can meet her in a bit. And this is Ryo-Ohki, cute little thing huh?" Ranma just chuckled before reaching out to pet Ryo-Ohki. Unfortunately that's about the time she decided to say hi, coming out as, "Myah."

"C-C-C-CCCCAAAAAATTTTTT," Ranma shouted before jumping 40 feet vertically, through overhand on the house. Everyone standing around just kind of sweatdropped before hearing Katsuhito start a rant on how he couldn't believe that fat fool was stupid enough to go through with the training.

"What training Grandpa," Tenchi asked curiously.

"10 years ago Ranma and his father showed up here. His father wanted him to know the basics of swordsmanship so he could defend against it if needed. Before leaving I found a manual among their possessions detailing what that fat gluttonous fool was going to teach him next. It's called the Neko-ken and I have never heard of anyone surviving the training," Katsuhito explained, "It was designed to make the perfect berserker warriors. They were practically unstoppable, but they also cared little for ally or foe. It was banned shortly after it's conception due to the training methods and effects the training had on the student."

"What does this training consist of," Washu asked curiously. She'd seen plenty of cases of ailurophobia, but never one this strong.

"Are ya sure ya wanna know," Ranma asked from his perch on the roof. He made sure to keep the c-c…demon from hell out of his line of sight. "It ain't pretty," he warned, when everyone nodded he shrugged and said, "Don't say I didn't warn ya. It's pretty simple. First dig a pit, then put a lot of c-c…felines in the pit. Starve 'em for a few days. Then take yer student, wrapped in fish products, and toss them in. Repeat it 'til the technique is mastered."

"What kind of monster would do that kind of thing," Ayeka screamed.

"The person I thought was my pops, luckily turns out he ain't, but he raised me from a baby," Ranma told them.

"If he wasn't your father then what happened to your parents," Sasami asked innocently. Unfortunately that was still quite a sore subject with Ranma, but she didn't know that.

"Turns out my real Pops was from Jurai and him and his wife sent me ta Earth ta die so there wouldn't be evidence that he cheated on her," Ranma told them sadly.

"You're a liar, there are no nobles on the planet of Jurai that would behave in such a fashion," Ayeka yelled angrily in her naiveté. She was still considered a teenager by Juraian standards after all, and she hadn't had time to learn the darker side of politics and politicians. Before Ranma could retort Misaki was in Ayeka's face glaring at her making the stuck up princess back down.

"He speaks the truth," Azusa said quietly, but everyone heard, "Seiji confessed himself to shipping Ranma to Earth in the hopes that the child would die and murdering his mother and disposing of the body." Once the Emperor of Jurai had confirmed it Ayeka fainted in shock that a noble of Jurai would act in such a manner.

"Why would he do it that way," Washu asked intrigued, "It would have made far more sense to kill both of them in the same manner."

"It was probably in case he was ever caught. Murdering an adult has a harsh punishment, but to murder a child, well, let's just say the law was unanimously passed that people who killed children received no mercy whatsoever," Katsuhito interjected.

"What do you mean Grandpa," Tenchi asked. It wasn't often he heard about Jurai from his grandfather, and he had to admit he was slightly curious.

"Had Seiji killed Ranma first he would have been stripped of his Juraian abilities, which is a very painful process, then he would have had 'murderer of children' branded into his chest and put on public display, and finally after 30 days of humiliation, degradation, and abuse at the hands of the public he would have been executed by being drawn and quartered," Azusa explained as if he were talking about the weather.

"Isn't that a little harsh," Ryoko asked a little fearfully. She was rather glad that her crimes against Jurai had expired due to the statute of limitations because she assumed more than one child died during her attack.

"We do not tolerate the abuse or neglect of children," Funaho said coldly.

"Why don't we head inside and get some lunch," Katsuhito suggested trying to break the tension. "After lunch we can discuss things in more depth, like how this young man ended up on Jurai and engaged to Sasami." Everyone agreed so they all shuffled inside with Tenchi carrying Ayeka, well, everyone went inside except Seriyou who was still floating in the lake (face up unfortunately).

Again, thanks to everyone who reviewed!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy

A/N: First things first. I expanded the last chapter a little bit, not much, only like 500 words or so. It's mostly changed towards the end, and there really isn't anything important. If ya wanna go back and read it, that's fine, if not ya ain't missin' much.

THE CURSE WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THIS CHAPTER! He still has it, that's all I'll say for now. About the no-weapons thing, I feel I gotta explain this. It is MY view that Ranma was raised by Genma to hate weapons. He'll use them if he has to, like in response to a challenge, but 99 out of 100 times you won't see Ranma with a weapon unless it has to do with a specific challenge like the whole Tea Ceremony thing. He can use them, is proficient with them, but prefers not to use them. Again, that's just my view on it. Sorry if ya don't agree. I'm working my way through the Manga and might change my mind, who knows, I've only read the first 3, and 19-32. Plan on gettin' the rest, but I ain't made of money. Plus currently I can't find any volumes after 32 published in English and I don't know Japanese yet. Anywho, that's just my rant on that, now, onto the story.

Chapter 8

"Ok, let me get this straight, she's a 'cabbit' not a c-c…feline spawn of hell," Ranma asked nervously.

"That is correct," Washu replied somewhat exasperatedly, "In fact she has no feline genes at all. She was created using Mass DNA and the DNA of a mineral life-form."

"K, not a feline, gotcha," Ranma replied before calming down. They had just finished lunch and Washu took the chance to explain to Ranma what Ryo-Ohki was considering his reaction to her. From what Katsuhito said she didn't want a berserker running around.

"If you come to my lab I may be able to find a way to help you gain control of it," Washu tells him with a manic gleam in her eye making Ranma sweatdrop. He'd seen expressions similar enough to it to know he needed to avoid going into Washu's lab as much as possible.

"Maybe later Washu-chan, it looks like everyone is here and wanting ta know how I ended up on Jurai," Ranma pointed out. And indeed everyone was in the living room waiting, including Mihoshi who had finally managed to get dressed, and they were all 'patiently' waiting for Ranma to begin.

"Gotcha," Washu replied with a sweatdrop due to all the glares she was receiving, funnily enough, Sasami appeared to be glaring the most. That alone caused Washu to shiver, an upset Sasami wasn't something to take lightly.

"Alright, do ya want the long version or the short version," Ranma asked sitting beside Sasami and patting Ryo-Ohki on the head who was in Sasami's lap.

"I believe the short version will suffice for now, as I'm sure there are things you'd rather not tell us until you know us better," Katsuhito pointed out before anyone could say anything. He knew if he left it up to the others they'd have Ranma's life story out of him if they could.

"Thanks," Ranma replied with a thankful grin, "Alright, why don't I just start at how I got ta Jurai and go from there?"

"That sounds perfectly acceptable," Ayeka commented stiffly. She was still miffed about her view of Juraian politics being shattered, but she didn't hold it against Ranma. He was a victim in all of this.

"Alright, well, after some things happened back where I used ta live I decided I needed to just get myself lost for a while ta sort some things out. One of my rivals has a _really_ bad sense of direction, so I figured I'd follow him 'til I was good and lost, well, needless ta say I was rather shocked that one minute we were walking down the street and the next we were in a castle surrounded by guards."

"Wait, are you trying to say that you got to Jurai _on foot_," Ryoko asked incredulously.

"Yep, although that void/tunnel thingy we walked through probably had somethin' ta do with it," Ranma commented nonchalantly before continuing his story, "Well, after Ryoga, that's my rivals name, ran off I was kinda forced ta defend myself against the guards. Didn't like the 20 to 1 odds too much so I used one of the techniques my Pop, I mean Genma, came up with ta turn myself invisible and escape after takin' down about 5 or 6 of the guards."

"Wow, really," Sasami asked with child-like enthusiasm, well, considering her age it made good sense that she acted that way.

"Yep, I can show ya later if ya want," Ranma replied thinking she was asking about the Umi-senken.

"I refuse to believe someone as small as you could beat even one of the Palace Guards, let alone 5," Ayeka commented as if it was the most absurd thing she'd heard of while she snuggled up to Tenchi. The sight of Ryoko and Ayeka pretty much suffocating the poor boy made Ranma sweatdrop while having a quick flashback to his old problems in Nerima.

"If ya don't believe me ask your Pop, he knows I did it, but anyway once I got away I kinda ran inta Lady Funaho and Lady Misaki," Ranma replied. Everyone in the room could guess what kind of reaction Misaki had upon seeing Ranma, and as one gave a collective shudder, especially Funaho as she'd seen it.

"After talkin' ta them for a little bit Misaki up and decided ta engage me ta Sasami," Ranma continued once the shudder had passed, "'Course, she kept that to herself until we'd gotten ta the throne room."

"Yes, that was quite amusing, Misaki made it sound as if she wanted to give Ranma to Sasami as a slave of some sort," Funaho told them with a little giggle, which made most of the people in the room blink-blink as they had never heard Funaho giggle.

"Anyway, we kinda decided ta put off the whole engagement talk until later and Azusa told me that I'd be shown a room I could use 'til later. On the way to the room me and Jiro met up with…I think it started with Aya or something like that. Anyway, she yelled at me thinkin' I was her son Kenji, and when I proved I wasn't she fainted so we carried her back to her room. We met up with her jerk of a son who showed us the rest of the way where I met my _father_," the word was spat like it was the foulest possible insult, "And he confessed shippin' me off to Earth. Jiro and I left and I kinda gotpartneredwithatree."

"What was that last bit," Katsuhito asked intrigued. He understood what Ranma said of course, but he could see confusion on the faces of everyone else.

"I kinda got myself partnered with a tree on our way back to my room," Ranma said this time clearly with a hint of resignation.

"Which tree," Sasami asked excitedly. Tenchi wasn't even partnered with a tree yet, but that probably had more to do with him not being on Jurai than anything.

"Kaikou-oh," Ranma told her. Just looking at her face he knew he wouldn't be able to deny her anything. She had an aura of absolute innocence and sweetness just like Kasumi did, and compound that with her liberal use of puppy dog eyes he was going to be wrapped around her finger rather quickly. When the name finally registered in the heads of the Juraians they all gasped, well, except Azusa. He hadn't gotten around to telling his wives yet and mentally added another month to the couch time for that slip. "That's about it, shortly after that we left to come here."

"That reminds me Ranma, you were rather 'excited' during the first few days of the journey, any chance you want to explain why," Azusa asked. He couldn't get the imagery out of his head of Ranma dancing around singing 'never gonna be a girl again'. It was quite disturbing.

"Ah, that, ya see a few years back during my training journey I was on Genma and I ended up in China at Jusenkyo, or the Pools of Sorrow, and whoever falls into one takes on the form of whatever drowned there last. Of course they're mostly destroyed now, but while we were there we both got cursed. He turns into a panda and I turned into what I woulda looked like had I been born a girl."

"That's rather difficult to believe," Washu interjected.

"What did your girl side look like," Sasami asked before Ranma could respond to Washu's claim. Ranma took a minute to think of what his girl side looked like as he hadn't seen it in a while and unfortunately found the new trigger for the change. Before their very eyes Ranma changed from a well built young man into a busty redhead.

"W-what," everyone said in shock causing Ranma to look around and see all the shocked faces. Seeing them all directed at him he, or rather she, looked down to see a rather well endowed chest that she thought was gone forever.

"Damn it, I thought I got rid of this," Ranma muttered. Her mind immediately thought back to what could have caused the change due to the fact that she was dry and she'd tried cold water before and it didn't work. Thinking of what her normal form looked like everyone was treated to the sight of Ranma changing back into a male. Of course Ryoko and Ayeka immediately took note of the fact that Tenchi had a river of blood flowing down his nose while he looked like he'd lost consciousness. This immediately angered them as they hadn't gotten a reaction like that out of Tenchi for quite a while.

"Amazing," Washu exclaimed breathlessly. Her mind only came up with one thing which it practically screamed loud enough for others to hear: _guinea pig! _"Would you like to be a guinea pig for my experiments," Washu asked excitedly.

"Um, huh," Ranma said completely baffled while everyone else were shaking their heads like Soun Tendo in an attempt to tell him not to.

"Ranma, would you consent to spar with my grandson Tenchi," Katsuhito asked with a Cheshire grin.

"Sure, um, wait, with or without bokkens," Ranma asked hesitantly. He hadn't really used one since his training with Katsuhito, at least not seriously.

"He'll be using one, you can fight unarmed if you prefer," Katsuhito told him with a manic gleam in his eyes.

"That's no contest, Tenchi'll win of course," Ryoko boasted with Ayeka nodding beside her.

"There is no way Lord Tenchi would lose," Ayeka replied confidently.

"Huh, what's going on," Tenchi asked finally coming back to the world after his lapse into the gutter.

"Tenchi, you and Ranma are going to spar," Katsuhito told his reluctant grandson. He knew Tenchi didn't like to fight, but if Ranma was truly capable of taking down Palace Guards then he felt that it would be a good match to help further Tenchi's skills. Tenchi nodded even though he didn't really want to and everyone stood up and headed towards the shrine where the spar would take place.

"Ground rules," Ranma asked knowing Katsuhito would put some in, he always did.

"Fight until three knock downs and try to keep the property damage to a minimum," he told them. Knowing the caliber of Tenchi if he release the Light Hawk Wings and guessing that Ranma himself had a few powerful maneuvers he felt that it was a good rule to impose. Both fighters nodded and took their places 10 meters away from each other. Knowing immediately that if Tenchi was trained by Katsuhito that he'd need to take it seriously Ranma went into a serious stance instead of his typical 'no stance' while Tenchi took up a ready stance with his bokken awaiting the signal. Ranma could immediately tell just by Tenchi's stance that his assumption was right. There appeared to be no gaping holes in Tenchi's stance, but the true test would be during the spar.

"Begin," Katsuhito announced after a moment of checking both fighters to see if they were ready. Immediately after he said it Ranma and Tenchi shot forward meeting at the center. The fight started out slowly with each probing the others defense looking for holes to exploit and just gauging the others ability. They slowly started speeding up until Ranma vanished from in front of Tenchi only for the spectators to see Tenchi flying forward the next moment while Ranma landed on the ground approximately right behind where Tenchi would have been standing. Tenchi hit the ground hard but rolled with it until he could stand himself up.

"Not bad," Tenchi commented while grinning. While he might not enjoy fighting this spar was definitely getting his blood pumping. Since it wasn't life or death and Ranma appeared to be at least equal to his ability he was quite getting into it.

"Not bad yourself," Ranma said with a cocky grin. Tenchi lunged forward only to disappear right before Ranma would have evaded the strike and reappeared behind him swinging his bokken in an attempt to catch Ranma off guard. Unfortunately due to his life in Nerima Ranma was quite used to attacks from behind so before Tenchi had even gotten halfway through the swing Ranma was already leaping over it and away to get a little room. Ranma was enjoying himself just as much as Tenchi, because it had been too long in his estimation since he'd sparred against someone just for the sake of sparring and betterment in the art. They began circling each other looking for an opportune moment to strike. Tenchi leapt up high feinting an overhead strike an Ranma as he came down only to twist and bring the bokken up from underneath catching Ranma under the chin sending him down into a backwards somersault on the ground for a few feet.

As soon as Ranma was on his feet he shot forward so he was within punching distance of Tenchi and after evading two swings shouted out, "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" The first two strikes were blocked but the rest made it through, and luckily for Tenchi Ranma pulled back a lot of strength in those blows. Unfortunately there's only so much you can pull back from a punch that breaks the sound barrier so when Tenchi landed on the ground three seconds later he knew he was going to have quite a few bruises.

"Tenchi," Ryoko, Mihoshi, and Sasami yelled in fear while Ayeka yelled, "Lord Tenchi!"

"Are you okay Tenchi," Sasami shouted from the sidelines.

"I'll be fine Sasami," Tenchi replied with a grin that looked more like a grimace. While getting himself up he slowed his breathing as his grandfather had been teaching him and sent some of his Juraian power into the bokken to strengthen it due to the few cracks it now sported and for a new attack he had learned earlier that week. Once on his feet he let out a cry of, "Kasairyuu! (Stone Wind)" This sent the power infused into his bokken forward as a wall of wind at an incredibly fast rate, and Ranma reacted by firing off a ki blast to hopefully cancel out Tenchi's attack. Unfortunately while the ki blast did open up a hole that should have allowed the attack to pass by harmlessly the attack acted just like it's namesake and filled the hole rapidly by drawing energy automatically from the rest of it to fill the gap. Ranma was sent down in his shock of his favorite ki blast failing him.

"This is just amazing," Washu commented to herself while looking at the data her computer was receiving.

"What is," Funaho asked curiously.

"That blast, it wasn't composed of any Juraian energy, it was all what earthlings call ki or chi. There aren't supposed to be any humans capable of wielding it," Washu explained incredulously.

"Why is that," Funaho asked confused.

"They are basically wielding their life force and if they can throw it around then they can replenish it. Meaning that they could, in theory, live well beyond the human standard without things like being bonded to a tree or the life water of Jurai," Washu said as she continued working with her computer trying to get an accurate gauge of Ranma's power level. Seeing the power building at an incredible rate, as if to release a massive blast, Washu screamed, "HIT THE DIRT!" Just before they all heard Ranma yell, "Hiryu Shoten Ha!" The tornado of energy rising into the air with Tenchi shocked everyone immobile from their spots, including Katsuhito, but just as Ranma was about to crow about his victory something happened that shocked all the bystanders. At the apex of his flight Tenchi accidentally called forth the Light Hawk Wings immediately ceasing Ranma's attack. As he landed and prepared to attack he hesitated long enough for Katsuhito to get in-between them.

"I believe that we shall call this match a draw," he commented effectively stopping both fighters.

"Huh, why," Ranma asked perplexed. He had to admit the light show that Tenchi gave off was cool, but it wasn't anything special. At least he didn't think so.

"I believe it would be too dangerous to continue if either of you bring out larger attacks than you already have. The last attack you used was already bigger than I expected to be used during this sparring match, and I expect you to work very hard repairing the damage to the ground due to the attack," Katsuhito told him sternly, to which Ranma just sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before bowing in acceptance of his punishment. Seeing that the battle was over Tenchi released the transformation, much to Washu's disappointment, and headed towards Ranma.

"That was a good match," he told the pigtailed youth.

"We'll have to do it again soon," Ranma replied with a grin, "There's not too many people I can stop holding back with and I like to enjoy it whenever I can."

"When is the last time you didn't hold back," Katsuhito asked, expecting Ranma to say when he was fighting the guards.

"I'd have to say it was at Jusendo, when I fought Saffron," Ranma said thoughtfully.

"You battled Saffron," he asked in shock, "And lived to tell the tale?"

"Yep, unfortunately ta win I had to kill him, but thankfully he was reborn right after," Ranma replied a little sullen at remembering the lengths he had to go to rescue Akane.

"When was this," Washu asked even more excited seeing a bit of what Ranma was capable of.

"Probably about sixth months or so ago now," Ranma told her wondering why she wanted to know.

"Hey Ayeka, wasn't that about the time we saw that report on the TV about that mountain in China being blown up," Ryoko asked curiously.

"Why I do believe you're right Ryoko," Ayeka replied, before throwing in, "For once."

"Why you…"

"Uh, hehe, that got on the news here too," Ranma asked nervously.

"Of course it was, it's not every day that a mountain blows up that's not a volcano," Washu told him before noticing his nervous posture.

"Um, oops," was all Ranma could say.

"You don't honestly expect us to believe that was you do you," Ryoko asked incredulously.

"Well, if ya don't believe me ya can ask any of the martial artists in Nerima about it, well, any of the high caliber ones, and they'll tell ya," Ranma replied defensively. While he was a bit modest about what he did he didn't stand for anyone calling him a liar. He couldn't lie to save his life, and these people didn't believe him when he was telling the truth.

"Wait, did you say Nerima, as in avoid at all costs Nerima? The same town that has the best construction crews around, and not to mention the highest insurance rates due to massive property damage? That Nerima," Tenchi asked in shock.

"Um, oops," Ranma replied sheepishly while rubbing the base of his neck.

Well, here's a special treat for all of ya. I was in the mood to do some writing since I couldn't find a decent story to read that I hadn't read yet. I know I didn't really give Mihoshi a part in this chapter, but dealing with so many characters is quite a challenge for me. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do this crossover. It's rare in Tenchi to deal with only two or three characters at a time, and I figured that while I worked on getting better at writing fight scenes I could improve on multiple character scenes as well. Hope ya enjoyed it! And thanks again to all my reviewers!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: First I gotta thank everyone who sent in ideas or offered to be a co-writer. I heartily appreciate it. Right now I have someone who's writing up chapter 10, I dunno if they wanna do anything after that. So, if there's a spot open after that I'll email those of you who asked and see if you're still interested. As a bunch of people obviously want more NWC I decided to make a pure NWC chapter. Again, thanks everyone, without all your suggestions and offers this story might've died.

Chapter 9

_Nerima-ku, Tokyo-ke, Japan_

"Nabiki, I'm going to take a book back to Dr. Tofu along with some lunch, will you bring this tray of tea to father and Uncle Saotome for me," Kasumi asked hoping that Nabiki wouldn't refuse. Ever since Ranma had left she had been doing her best to avoid the Saotome patriarch, who jumped bail, and unfortunately with her responsibilities it wasn't going well.

"Sure sis," Nabiki replied wearily from her spot at the table surrounded by ledgers. After what had happened three months ago Nabiki had been doing her level best to keep the roof over their heads and things weren't going well. She had managed to sell off the last of her pictures of Ranma two weeks ago and tax time was coming up. If she didn't find a way to bring in money quick they were looking at troubled times. It was times like this that she wondered how much she could get for a panda at the zoo.

"Thank you," Kasumi replied before slipping on her shoes and practically bolting out the door. Well, as fast as she could while still looking like a perfect housewife. It wouldn't due to have the neighbors talking about them more than they already were. The last three months were troubled times indeed, and it didn't seem to be getting any better. Crime was on the rise in the area, and there were rumors of the Yakuza solidifying their position in Nerima once again. Ranma had done a good job driving them out before, but it appears as though without him around to keep the thugs in check they were making up for lost time.

_Maybe I should have returned this book sooner,_ Kasumi thought fretfully, _I don't want Ono mad at me for taking so long after all, but I'm so nervous to face him after what I did to Ranma._ Kasumi had, in fact, tried several times to make the trip to see Dr. Tofu, but never quite made it through the front door. She had been in love with him for so long that she wasn't sure how he would treat her now. He was always so amusing to her in the past with his antics, but with as good of a friend he was of Ranma's there was no telling how he would act around her now. After mentally bracing herself one last time she slid open the front door and walked in hoping that things wouldn't go too badly.

"Dr. Tofu, I've come to return the book I've borrowed and I've brought you some lunch," Kasumi called out hesitantly.

"Tendo-san, thank you for returning my book," Tofu replied as he walked into the room rigidly. Anyone who looked at him could tell that he was trying very hard to maintain control of his actions. Whether it be to keep from going crazy as he usually did or to keep from slapping her was anyone's guess. Taking only the book from her he turned his back and headed straight for his office assuming there was no other business since she looked perfectly healthy.

"Dr. Tofu, is there something wrong?" Kasumi's question stopped him in mid-step just before he reached the door. Without turning around he decided to answer her question, in a way.

"Tendo-san, do you remember our conversation when you originally asked to start borrowing my medical books," he asked tersely.

"Why yes, of course…oh my," Kasumi said as she suddenly realized what appeared to be the problem.

_Flashback_

_A 17 year old Kasumi was sitting across from a slightly younger looking Dr. Tofu who appeared to be in some kind of pain._

"_Now Kasumi, why do you want to borrow my medical texts," Tofu asked curiously._

"_I've always dreamed of being a nurse or a doctor and being able to help people. We aren't able to afford to send me to college at this point so I want to do as much study as I can before I am able to enter," Kasumi replied with a kind smile that made Tofu appear to grit his teeth as if he was grinding tacks into his rear, which he was._

"_That's very admirable of you Kasumi," Tofu replied once he was able to talk again, "But before I agree there are a couple things I need you to promise."_

"_Like what Dr. Tofu?"_

"_First, and don't take this the wrong way, since the information in these texts can be used to harm people as much as help them I need you to swear that you'll never use what you learn to harm an innocent person," Tofu told her sternly._

"_Of course, I promise that I would never use medical knowledge to harm someone," Kasumi replied as if it were a given, and to everyone who knew Kasumi, it pretty much was._

"_I knew that wouldn't be a problem, but I needed to hear it first," Tofu told her warmly before becoming stern again, "I always need you to promise to use what you learn to help those you can, even if it is to keep them alive or stable enough until I or another doctor can help them."_

"_Oh my, I would never think about not helping an injured person, of course, I promise to do everything in my power to help those that I can with what I learn," Kasumi swore emphatically._

_End flashback_

"I seem to recall a young man requesting your aide when he was grievously wounded four or five months back and you refusing to help him, even if that help were to get him to me," Tofu said coldly, "You cannot pick and choose who you help as a doctor or a nurse. Everyone must be helped within the best of your ability."

"I know what I did was wrong, and I will not make excuses for my actions," Kasumi replied eyes downcast, "Do…do you know where he is?"

"So you and your family can make his life even worse," Tofu asked harshly still with his back facing her. As long as he didn't look at her it was easier to keep his mind clear.

"N-no, I want to apologize for what I did to him," Kasumi stuttered.

"Even if I knew I wouldn't say, if you were to find him the rest of your family, not to mention the other loons around her, wouldn't be far behind," Tofu told her calmly, but with no warmth in his voice. "I would appreciate it if you left, and inform your family that I will no longer be able to be their doctor. They will be able to seek help at the nearest hospital like everyone else, but unless it is a _chiropractic_ emergency then I will not be able to help. Should an emergency arise your family can use emergency services just like everyone else.

"As it is, I shouldn't have allowed your family to get by on just my physicals alone. I am by no means an internal doctor and what I am able to treat is limited. I also will not do favors for people that torture innocent human beings."

"Th…thank you for your help in the past Dr. Tofu, and I will relay your message to my family," Kasumi told him with tears brimming in her eyes. She knew right from the beginning of the conversation that not only was he angry about her treatment of Ranma, but she had lost his trust when she broke her promise to him to treat everyone to the best of her abilities. With tears streaking down her cheeks she left the office and made her solemn journey back to the dojo thinking over how to relay this message to her family. With everything swirling around her mind it didn't take her long to reach the gates and make her way inside.

"Father, Nabiki, Akane," she called out as she made her way inside towards the dining room, "Will you please come to the dining room for a moment?" Once everyone was gathered she decided to break the news. She knew Nabiki would take the news hard, only because Tofu gave them a discount, and Akane would take it hard due to the crush she used to have on the doctor.

"What is it sis," Nabiki asked from her place at the table. She appeared to still be going over the books as if hoping for some error that would grant them more money.

"I will tell you when everyone gets here," Kasumi replied before taking a spot next to Nabiki and silently waiting for the other two. It didn't take long for her father and Akane to arrive, unfortunately Soun was accompanied by Genma, as per usual.

"Kasumi, what news do you have for us," Soun asked jovially. He had been told, for a fee of course, that Kasumi had been to see Dr. Tofu. He was assuming, and quite in error, that Kasumi had either become engaged or was at least now dating the young doctor.

"Did Tofu finally propose," Genma asked stupidly, well in everyone else's opinion but Soun's, as anyone could tell by looking at her face it wasn't good news.

"N-no, I'm afraid it is not good news," Kasumi said hesitantly, "Dr. Tofu asked me to inform everyone that he will no longer be treating our family unless we have a chiropractic emergency. He suggested for any other emergencies we use emergency service, and that we contact a regular physician to see to the rest of our needs."

"Why would Dr. Tofu say something like that," Nabiki asked, although she had a pretty good idea of why.

"I bet it's all that baka's fault," Akane exclaimed angrily, to which most everyone else nodded, except for Kasumi and Nabiki.

"We have no one to blame but ourselves," Kasumi told her sternly, scaring everyone in the room, including Nabiki. "Dr. Tofu was…upset at our treatment of Ranma, especially when most of his injuries were directly or indirectly caused by a member of this household."

"I _knew_ it, it _is_ the baka's fault," Akane yelled triumphantly.

"NO!" Kasumi's shout stopped everyone cold. They hadn't heard her scream since before their mother had passed away, so needless to say, it came as quite a shock to everyone.

"What were his exact words," Nabiki asked curiously. She didn't feel much shame for her past actions, she did what she had to do to keep a roof over their heads.

"He said that he would not do favors for people who tortured innocent human beings," Kasumi replied quietly. Soun was still in too much shock from the yell to respond or even cry, and Genma looked downright confused as to who they supposedly tortured. Akane looked livid at the accusation and Nabiki snorted at the description of their treatment of Ranma.

"How can that be torture," Nabiki asked with amusement.

"Do any of you know what a typical day was for Ranma," Kasumi asked in place of answering directly.

"Get woken up, eat half our food, pick on Ryoga, sleep through morning classes, flirt with his floozies at lunch, sleep through the afternoon classes, flirt with his floozies after school, eat half our food at supper, workout in the dojo and then go to bed," Akane answered snidely. Nabiki rolled her eyes at Akane's description but didn't make any corrections.

"Would you like to hear what he described to me as his typical day," she asked and then went on before they could answer negatively, "Either thrown out a second story window or have a bucket of ice water dumped on him in the morning, eat breakfast while trying to keep from angering Akane (which never worked), attempt to dodge all water on the way to school as well as fiancées and rivals, fight Kuno just to get in the school, catch up on missed sleep through classes, fight off fiancées and rivals at lunch while attempting to keep the peace with Akane, catch up on the rest of his sleep during the afternoon, dodge or fight fiancees and rivals just to get here so he can practice, eat what food his father doesn't steal from him, practice in the dojo, try to keep Ryoga from going in Akane's room via P-chan, and deal with crazy rivals in the middle of the night _every _night as they like to attack while he's sleeping, and finally turn in around 4 am. And that's not including the days Grandfather Happosai was here when Ranma'd have to patrol to keep Grandfather from stealing."

"Bah, that doesn't sound so tough to deal with," Akane snorted.

"Oh my, did I forget to mention being malleted halfway across Nerima several times a day for stopping thieves," Kasumi asked obliviously making everyone sweatdrop.

"What do you mean stopping thieves," Nabiki asked.

"You haven't heard," Kasumi asked shocked, "Ranma was the one who kept the Yakuza out of town and dealt with the low class thieves. When he wasn't here, at school, or on a training trip he was usually stopping anywhere from a purse snatcher to a bank robber."

"And you believe the stories that pervert told you," Akane asked in disbelief.

"Oh my, is the chief of police of pervert? He seemed like a gentlemen to me," Kasumi said thoughtfully.

"Wait, you heard this from Chief Yamanaka? When did he stop by and tell you this," Nabiki asked in shock. She _didn't_ like not knowing things and the police chief stopping by and telling Kasumi things Ranma of all people had done for the city was hard to believe.

"It had to have been 8 months ago, he stopped by to offer Ranma a position I believe he said. With all the work Ranma had done he had earned an honorary one as it was," Kasumi explained.

"Wait, wait, wait," Nabiki said waving her arms. This was almost too much for her to take in, but she needed the full story, "Chief Yamanaka came to our house to offer Ranma a job? In what department? And why did you treat Ranma the way you did knowing this?"

"I believe he said that Ranma could either be a patrol officer or an instructor to bring up the unarmed fighting techniques of the police force," Kasumi replied hesitating before continuing as to the _why_, "Even, even knowing all the good he did, and hearing his side of the story, I still believed Akane's word over his when she said he was flirting with his other fiancées. I felt he was stringing them all along so I felt the need to punish him in some way."

"That doesn't make sense though, even with denying him hot water and the occasional meal, which is no worse then Genma did, why would he leave," Nabiki asked, knowing the answer, but felt that the rest of the family needed to hear it.

"Akane, do you remember the day four months ago when you said Ranma was flirting with Shampoo and you decided to punish him when everyone else joined in," Kasumi asked. Akane's malicious smile was more than proof enough that she remembered, and remembered fondly at that. "When Ranma returned home I was still in the entryway after greeting Akane home and he pleaded for help. He looked like death warmed over, and…and," tears started falling down her face at this point and she continued with a sob, "I told him not to track more blood into the house and to go see Dr. Tofu if he needed help. I found out the night he left that he was nearly killed that day and I (sob) just turned my back on him." Soun fainted at this point from shock overload and Genma looked like it was no skin of his nose, he was actually wondering why he was there. Akane's smile waned a little but didn't leave, and Nabiki looked just at sad, if not more so, then she was when she initially heard the story.

"He's just a worthless son, if he wasn't he would've married Akane like he should have," Genma spouted off forgetting that Soun had fallen unconscious and couldn't back him up.

"What son is that," Nodoka asked with a sigh as she walked in. she hadn't heard the whole thing, just Genma's comment.

"Ranma of course," Nabiki said, as if it were obvious.

"There is no Ranma Saotome on the clan register and there never has been," Nodoka told them sadly which overloaded Nabiki's mind and she froze from shock as her father did earlier.

"What do you mean Auntie," Kasumi asked confused as she attempted to wipe her eyes.

"Genma and I found Ranma when he was a baby and passed him off as our own. I lost my own child at birth several months before and nobody knew. So we took him on as our own," Nodoka explained emotionlessly. She now felt guilty about her treatment of Ranma, as she had been doing as suggested and looked into her husband's activities on the training trip. It wasn't a pretty sight. She hadn't been back here since she had had her husband arrested and now that she knew for sure he was here she was going to make sure to report it to the authorities.

"So my engagement…" Akane asked hopefully.

"Was never real," Nodoka finished for her. You could practically see Akane glow with happiness at that. Unbeknownst to the people at the table a small ninja and a white and purple cat slunk off at hearing this news.

"I've been wondering about that for a while now," Nabiki mused as she came out of her stupor.

"What do you mean," Akane asked curiously.

"I went after Ranma the night he left only to hear his conversation with Auntie, when he mentioned that he wasn't a Saotome I was shocked, but it made sense in an odd way. Since then I've been wondering where he came from," Nabiki explained.

"Why didn't you tell us," Soun demanded before crying waterfalls about how his daughter was a money grubber when she replied, "You never paid to find out all I knew about Ranma, unlike the Amazons."

All in all, things had changed quite a bit in Nerima since Ranma left, all except Ryoga getting perpetually lost that is.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: Well, since the co-author idea kinda fell through and you've all been waiting double the normal for this chapter I'm gonna make this chapter a bit longer than normal. I'm shooting for 10 normal pages, but we'll see. This story is going to be finished up within probably two more chapters, maybe three, because I'm not as into Ranma as I was when I started this story. There are too many good mangas and animes out there catching my interest. Oh well, hope ya'll enjoy!

Chapter 10

_Masaki home, one week later_

"Ranma, as it's so late into the semester we will not be enrolling you in Tenchi's school until the coming semester after the holidays. However, I believe the teachers will expect you to be caught up with the rest of the students in the class," Katsuhito began while internally cursing Washu. Just _where_ did she get those pictures anyway? "Since that is the case I believe it would be best for you to be tutored when you have time from your chores and your training. As Tenchi is too busy with his own studies to catch you up and finish his own homework it; I believe it would be best for Washu to be your tutor."

"Are you sure 'bout that Sensei," Ranma asked hesitantly. He'd already managed to keep himself from being dragged into Washu's lab a total of 10 times in the last week after a friendly warning from Tenchi. Of course, that meant that Tenchi was getting drug in more than usual. Ranma had been really pitying Tenchi due to the stories he'd heard about Washu's experiments, but now that the shoe was on the other foot he could only pray that the stories were exaggerations.

"It would be for the best. She would be able to get you up to speed faster than anyone else in the house," Katsuhito replied, hoping that little incentive would make the deal sound better. You get too drunk _once_ and mistake an animal pen as your bed and people never let you live it down. Cameras weren't even _around_ then, so he really wasn't sure where the photographic evidence came from.

"All right, when am I supposed ta be there for my first lesson," Ranma asked resigned. He knew Katsuhito would keep pushing this until Ranma agreed, and he _was_ Ranma's sensei, so there wasn't much Ranma could do to argue.

"In a few minutes actually. I'd suggest you hurry unless you want to be turned into a guinea pig the moment you enter her lab," Katsuhito said with the ghost of a smile as he watched Ranma dash for the door to Washu's lab. When Washu was expecting you nobody wanted to be late. It was a standing rule that if you were late you were strapped to a table the moment you entered. "I hope he can find which section of her lab she's hiding out in, he never even gave me a chance to tell him where to go."

Meanwhile, Ranma was bolting through the innocent looking door into Washu's lab like the hounds of hell were on his tail in an effort to make it in time. He'd so far succeeded in not becoming a guinea pig for Washu, but with his luck, or rather lack of it, that wouldn't hold out much longer. A quick check of the main part of the lab made it clear that finding Washu wasn't going to be an easy task. Normally she worked here in case anyone in the house needed her for something, but if she wasn't here, then she _wanted_ him to be late. After searching all the obvious rooms Ranma opened the door to the last room he'd been shown, the medical bay Washu had in her lab, unfortunately for him, the minute he stepped through the door he was assaulted by robotic arms calibrated for his immense strength and strapped to a table.

"Hehehe, Ranma-kun, you're late," Washu cackled as she came out of hiding from behind a terminal.

"Ah, Washu-chan, um, I looked all over for you, but ah, couldn't find you," Ranma attempted to reason while stuttering due to unreasonable fear.

"Don't worry Ranma-kun, this won't hurt a bit, at least, it won't hurt me," Washu replied with an insane laugh that made Ranma scream loud enough that the whole house heard.

"Better him than me," Tenchi commented as he laced up his shoes to go work in the field.

_**(Break time, get a cookie or sumthin')**_

_Later that same day_

"Remind me never to be late for a tutoring session again," Ranma complained as he stretched out his sore muscles. He'd been strapped to the table for several hours and then spent the rest of the time either hunched over a desk attempting to stay awake or being punished for falling asleep. Punishment for failure being more tests conducted, so in all, Ranma spent roughly two thirds of the time in Washu's lab having experiments conducted on himself. Only being awake and paying attention for a grand total of 45 minutes. That's cumulative, not all at once either.

"Ha ha ha, I'll be sure to remind you, but better you than me, she used to have me in there every other day attempting to run experiments and tests on me," Tenchi replied with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, we'll just see how you like it when I tell Washu that you miss being in her lab," Ranma groused.

"You wouldn't," Tenchi gasped.

"Try me," Ranma countered before breaking out in guffaws, "Nah, I wouldn't do that to ya. Just make sure that I'm not late, like say, 30 minutes early so I can find her, and I won't say a thing."

"Whew, don't scare me like that," Tenchi chuckled in mock relief. "So, has Grandpa started your training yet?"

"Nah, he said he needs to finish up a few things at the shrine and finish up the kata he's teaching you before he starts with me. I'm supposed to just go through what I remember and he'll start with me later this week," Ranma said as he stretch the last of the kinks out of muscles before beginning the sword katas he learned from Yosho years ago.

"So, have you sparred with him yet," Tenchi asked curiously. His own spar with Ranma had been inconclusive because he'd accidentally tapped the Light Hawk Wings. He was pretty sure that had that not happened Ranma would've won that last bout.

"Yeah, a few days ago, and if you repeat this I'll beat you within an inch of your life, but he completely owned me in that fight. There wasn't much of a difference in power, if anything I might've had a little bit more with both my ki and Kaikou's power, but he had quite a few moves I'd never seen before so had no way to counter. That'll change, but for our first bout I lost," Ranma somewhat complained. He _really_ didn't like the fact that he lost, but most of his wins in the past had come from his ability to think on his feet. His learning curve and his tactical thinking were practically unrivalled, but coming against a fighter he'd never fought or seen fought before he's at a serious disadvantage. All his power is of no use if he can't come up with a good plan to use it. The only reason he'd beat Saffron was because Saffron used the same tactics _over and over_ again. It was easy to come up with a plan, the only question was power, and with the Gekkaja I had enough to make a strong enough Hiryu Shoten Ha. (Just my opinion folks! Ranma's got power, but he wasn't as strong as Saffron, even one that was hatched early, but he's a tactical genius.)

"TENCHI," Ryoko yelled as she appeared out of thin air and hung herself off of his neck, "Why don't we go for a nice romantic walk around the lake?"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY TENCHI YOU MONSTER WOMAN," Ayeka yelled as she stormed towards the trio. Pretty soon Tenchi was the 'rope' in a tug-of-war between Ryoko and Ayeka despite all protests that he needed to practice right now.

"HE ISN'T YOUR TENCHI YOU ROYAL FLEA BAG," Ryoko yelled while holding Tenchi's arm between her ample assets.

"HE WOULD PREFER ME TO SOME DRUNKEN FLOOZY," Ayeka retorted while tugging on Tenchi's other arm.

"Now that brings back some bad memories, better you than me Tenchi, I think I'll go see if Sasami needs any help making supper," Ranma commented before taking off. Before he got out of hearing range he yelled over his shoulder, "Ya know, ya might have better luck if ya didn't treat Tenchi as an object, he's a person not a pet!" His parting shot quickly silenced both women making them sulk and walk off as they realized how childish they were just acting. Nobody had really pointed out that they were never _asking_ Tenchi, just assuming, sure there had been times when they had legitimately tried to win him, but they were few and far between. Usually they just fought over him like he was a stuffed toy.

"Girls, why don't the three of us take a walk and have a nice long talk," Tenchi suggested. He didn't like seeing any of the girls in the house depressed, and despite how they treated him he loved them both quite a bit. It was just picking one over the other, he didn't think he'd ever be able to do that.

"Hey Sasami," Ranma called as he entered the kitchen after washing up. "Do you need any help?"

"R-Ranma-kun," Sasami stuttered. Despite him being around for a week, and his vow that they'd get to know each other as friends she was still somewhat nervous around him. He was such a nice man, and just looking at him made her blush, especially when he was outside practicing without a shirt on.

"You okay Sasami? You want me to make supper so you can get some rest? You look like you might be coming down with something," Ranma suggested before putting the back of his hand to her forehead to check her temperature making her blush a deeper shade of red.

"I'm fine Ranma-kun, I have everything ready, I just need to cook it," Sasami replied before suggesting, "Why don't you head out to the dock and practice?"

"Ah, Ayeka and Ryoko were fightin' over Tenchi. Wanted ta give them some time ta talk. I gave them a little something to think about on my way back and I wanted to see if you needed any help," Ranma told her with a smile.

"They're walking around the lake so if you want to get some more practice in so Grandpa doesn't get angry with you, you can," Sasami told him. Despite knowing that Yosho and Katsuhito were one and the same, she kept calling him Grandpa to not arouse suspicions with Ayeka and the others if they hadn't figured it out yet. Sometimes it paid to be able to chat with a Goddess.

"Someday you're gonna hafta tell me how you do that," Ranma commented. He knew that if Sasami said they'd left then she was right, she'd proven that enough times over the week, but he'd yet to learn how she knew.

"I promise I'll tell you someday, just, just give me a little more time," Sasami asked a little sadly.

"Of course Sasami-chan," Ranma told her as he kneeled down to her height. "Cheer up, I ain't gonna pressure ya, I'm just curious is all."

"Thank you Ranma," Sasami said with a watery smile. She knew the explanation would happen sooner than she'd like. Tsunami wanted to have a talk with Ranma soon as she'd felt Kenji bond with a tree and leave Jurai shortly after the Azusa's ship did. If anything she'd need to talk to him to warn him in case Kenji came to attack Ranma for some reason.

"Ya don't gotta thank me Sasami, that's what friends are for, if ya need ta talk just let me know," Ranma told her while putting a hand on her shoulder. After a moment he stood back up and left the kitchen leaving Sasami to her cooking and her thoughts. Making his way back to the docks he wasn't a bit surprised to see that it was indeed empty as Sasami said, so he quickly loosened up again before starting his practice. After completing 50 of each of 7 of the 9 swings Ranma started on the beginning kata again. While he was getting proficient at it, he didn't have it perfect again, yet.

_Thrust, parry, dodge, overhead, left side, parry, jump, crouch right side cut, block, upwards from right into a thrust, block, overhead, etc…_ Towards the end of the kata his danger sense, one of only benefits to the hellish training Genma put him through, went to full alert. Only the fact that Ranma still wasn't used to training with a bokken, and wasn't completely immersed in the kata like he would normally be, saved him from being run through with the kodachi that nicked his arm as he dodged to the right. As he spun around he was faced with someone he never thought he would need to see again.

"What are you doing here," Ranma asked half in shock and half in anger.

"I'm here to get revenge," Kenji yelled.

"What'd I do ta you," Ranma retorted in anger. "From what I hear you're older so you get ta have Seiji's seat in the court, so what d'ya need ta kill me for?"

"Because of you showing up my mother doesn't even acknowledge I exist anymore," Kenji screamed. "Once father lost his power she began throwing herself at any single royals in a petty attempt to gain power. Now she doesn't even look at me, much less care about me!"

"Hate ta tell ya this, but that ain't my fault," Ranma replied as he tossed the bokken off to the side. Since this was a serious fight he wouldn't go into it with something he knew would be a disadvantage for him. He was already handicapped enough as it was facing someone who had weapons, let alone fighting his own brother.

"YES IT IS! If you'd have never shown up things wouldn't have changed! Father would still be part of the court and Mother would never have abandoned me," Kenji yelled.

"If you're lookin' for pity, look somewhere else," Ranma replied coldly while getting into a defensive posture. "I don't even need ta use Kaikou's power ta beat you."

"THAT POWER SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE," Kenji shouted angrily, letting on that he was jealous due to getting a lesser tree.

"Bah, a spoiled brat like you? Let me guess, ya got the weakest tree there," he taunted his half-brother. He was hoping that if he got Kenji angry enough he could knock him out with the least amount of damage. While he might not know him that well, Kenji _was_ his half-brother. He didn't want to go all out. He hadn't used his full strength on Genma after all when he thought the man was his father. Luckily, the ploy to anger Kenji worked, the Juraian royal leapt at Ranma swinging wildly with the kodachi. Unfortunately, due to the fact that he _was_ swinging wildly with such short weapons, Ranma got nicked a few times while weaving around the twin weapons trying to get in a clean hit. It took a few minutes, as well as gaining a number of nicks and gashes, but Ranma finally got in close enough to hit Kenji's pressure points to knock him out.

Once that was done Ranma set about stopping the worst of his wounds with some material from his shirt before throwing Kenji over his shoulder and heading for the shrine where Azusa, Yosho, Misaki, and Funaho should be. Since they were nearly twins, except for Kenji not having the hidden muscles Ranma had, the trip went quite quickly since the boy was quite light.

**Knock, Knock!**

"Enter," Yosho called out.

"Hey Sensei, my brother showed up," Ranma said as he tossed Kenji on the floor in front of the Emperor, his wives, and the former First Crown Prince of Jurai.

"What happened," Misaki asked emotionally.

"Guess my step-mom didn't care too much for my dad. From what Kenji said as soon as he lost power she started hangin' offa any single guy that'd look at her that had any scrap of power," Ranma commented.

"That's a common occurrence, unfortunately," Funaho replied, "But why would he be angry at you?"

"I guess it was to the point she was ignorin' him too. He blames me for showin' up," Ranma told her before sitting down next to Kenji.

"That's a rather stupid thing to do," Yosho commented to his student.

"Welcome ta my life," Ranma replied resignedly.

"Was he attempting to hurt or to kill," Funaho asked not betraying her thoughts, not that Ranma would have any clue as to why she was asking.

"Well, based offa his first attack I'd hafta guess kill. If I wouldn'ta dodged his first thrust woulda gone through my lung, maybe heart too," he told her with a depressed air.

"In that case, like his father, he will be stripped of his title and charged with attempted murder of a member of the Royal family," Azusa said imperiously.

"But there ain't no harm done. It ain't like he actually killed me," Ranma defended his brother, why, even if you asked him he couldn't tell you, but he just felt it was the right thing to do.

"Ranma, whether you want to admit it or not, your brother attempted to kill you. That's not something we can take lightly. What if he decided that instead of going after you he would set his sights on the Emperor, the person who took his father's power away," Yosho asked.

"But, there ain't no way ta know if he will," Ranma protested.

"That's enough, my word is final," Azusa barked causing Ranma to flinch and become even more depressed. Not only had he caused his so-called father to be arrested, but now his brother too. He had never intended for any of this to happen, and had he known it would he never would've followed Ryoga.

"Ranma-kun, if it makes you feel any better, we have an update on the search for where Seiji buried your mother," Misaki told him in the hopes of lifting his spirits. Unfortunately it didn't do much, but he was interested and made a grunt of ascent for her to continue. "According to the reports we received today the location was empty. After asking around it was found out that your mother was found and treated before she died. Unfortunately, due to severe head trauma she lost her memory, but she never forgot about you in her heart. As soon as she was well enough she departed for Earth because she had a strong belief that something here would help her regain her memories.

"You mean there's a chance she could still be alive," Ranma asked desperately.

"Yes, there's a good chance. Unfortunately we're not sure what name she's under right now. On Jurai her name was Yukishiro Kaoru, but due to regulations she would have changed it after settling down here like Yosho did," Funaho told him, "She never got in contact or was unable to get into contact with the Galaxy Police to inform them of the change of her name after settling down."

"Thank you," Ranma told them with a watery smile, completely forgetting about his brother before he bolted from the shrine to tell Sasami the good news and see if Washu might be able to search for his mother.

_**(IT'S YEBISU TIME!)**_

Unit 01 laid the smack down on…oops, wrong story!

Towards the end of the week, things were finally calming down after the attack from Kenji, and Ranma was ready to finally begin his training under Yosho again. As much as he complained about it, he knew he hit something of a plateau in unarmed combat. The only way to really improve was in speed, power, and ki based techniques. He wanted the excitement of learning a school from the beginning again. It was something he missed from his time on the road with Genma, although the training with Genma left a lot to be desired, the sense of accomplishment when he perfected a new kata was something that he always cherished. That's why the Art was so important to him. It was the joy of learning it, and losing himself in it that he enjoyed. Plus, the joy of going all out while sparring with a friend that nothing he had come across could compare with.

"Now don't hold back on me just because I ain't good with this yet," Ranma warned.

"Don't worry, I learned my lesson the last time we sparred, you'll get everything I can give you," Tenchi replied happily. He was much more into sparring now that he had someone who was both better and worse than him. Take away the bokken and Ranma'd most likely beat Tenchi, but in the spars they had over the last few days with Ranma holding a bokken Tenchi'd finally had someone he was better than. It was a definite change, and he realized why his grandfather liked sparring with him so much. He could see Ranma improve with each spar as he pointed out problems with Ranma's defense and other things.

To an unseen signal both fighters leapt at each other Ranma with an overhead strike and Tenchi with a blow to Ranma's midsection. After the initial trade the only thing a spectator could see would be their arms moving and hear the clacks of the bokkens hitting each other. Neither one was injured from the initial trade-off as Tenchi dodged and Ranma had taken too many mallets and/or blunt objects to the head for it to even phase him.

"Hey Ranma," Tenchi called out as he jumped back.

"Yeah," Ranma asked confused as to why they were taking a break.

"Can you sense Grandpa anywhere around," Tenchi asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Nope, he's up at the shrine, why?"

"Wanna try a couple of the moves we saw in the anime yesterday," Tenchi proposed. If he could get something to surprise Katsuhito with, he _might_ get a hit in one of these times.

"Alright, but I get Ken's. You can take Hiko's attack," Ranma bargained.

"Sounds good," Tenchi replied. With a nod they both leapt into the air.

"RYUU TSUI SEN," Ranma yelled at the apex of his jump while bringing his bokken to bear coming down.

"RYUU SHOU SEN," Tenchi answered holding his bokken on each end on his way up.

**CRACK! SMACK! THUD!**

"OWWW," two voices yelled as their bodies slammed into the ground.

"Let's not do that again for a while," Tenchi whined. Before Ranma could reply their peace was interrupted by a voice Ranma had hoped he wouldn't hear again.

"RANMA! FOR LETTING AKANE GET HURT PREPARE TO DIE," Ryoga yelled as he charged.

"Oh great, pig boy is here," Ranma complained before tossing his bokken at Tenchi. "Ya might wanna give us some room."

"Don't you dare ignore me Ranma," Ryoga shouted as he continue charging, collecting bandanas in his hand as he ran.

"How did I _allow_ Akane ta get hurt," Ranma asked flatly.

"Because you weren't there she had to fight the Dojo Destroyers and got hurt," Ryoga answered stupidly before throwing his ki laced bandanas.

"So you're telling me that because she broke my decree against her using Anything Goes she got hurt, and that's _my fault_," Ranma replied incredulously while dodging the flying projectiles. He made though sure to knock any down that were heading towards Tenchi or the house.

"Of course it is," Ryoga replied as if it were obvious.

"Well P-chan, thanks for letting me know that I have to do something about Akane, and her father," Ranma commented as if he figured he'd have to anyway. Before any more words could be said Ryoga took out his umbrella and made a stab for Ranma's head. With the least amount of movement Ranma shifted his head so the umbrella would go past his head. "So Ryoga, why weren't you fighting the challengers instead of Akane? Aren't you two married now?"

"Hehehe, yeah, I mean, of course I was fighting them, but I got lost! It's your entire fault for not being in Nerima," Ryoga shouted coming out of his little dream world before taking another futile swipe at Ranma with his umbrella.

"You're not even a challenge anymore P-chan," Ranma taunted.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT," Ryoga yelled before finding himself with a face and stomach full of a 'Moko Takabisha'. His last thought before losing consciousness was _Damn you Ranma, I will get vengeance on you for what you've done to Akane!_

Tenchi brought over a bucket of water for Ranma to use to cool off with since not only did Ranma spar with him, but he had a fight with Ryoga and neither one of them were at what you would call normal speed. Upending the bucket of water over his head Ranma felt something he never thought he would feel again, the distinct tingling of Jusenkyo magic.

A/N: I know, not nearly long enough, but I wanted it ended there. This is going to be a double post, so don't worry too much. I'm going to start on chapter 11 right now. Couldn't stretch the chapter out as long as I wanted so I figured I'd just write out the next chapter, I'm supposed to be up to 11 anyway.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: I just realized, with how much I'm jumping around there are going to be some things missing from the last chapter that I wanted put in. I'll have to do a flashback in this chapter of Ranma meeting Sasami cause we're taking a time jump forward here.

This'd be a lot easier if I could find scanlations or a torrent with all of the Tenchi Muyo! mangas. So damned difficult finding correct information, argh!

Chapter 11

_Tendo Dojo, 6 months later_

"Akane, I'm back," Ryoga yelled excitedly as he stumbled through the hallway.

"Ryoga, where have you been," Akane asked angrily.

"I got lost," he replied defensively before adding something to take her mind off of that, "I saw Ranma."

"What was that pervert doing," Akane asked angrily. She still hadn't forgiven him for embarrassing her.

"He was living in Okayama at a Shinto Shrine," Ryoga replied.

"Are you _sure_ it was Okayama," Nabiki asked overhearing the conversation.

"Of course I'm sure," Ryoga told her defensively, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well Ryoga-kun, being lost implies you don't know where you are," Kasumi commented joining the conversation as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Nevermind them, why were you gone so long," Akane asked while gathering him up in a hug, causing Ryoga's rising anger and depression to deflate rather quickly.

"After Ranma cheated somehow and knocked me out I woke up in some kind of lab. There was some kind of redheaded midget running experiments on me for…I don't even remember how many days. When I finally got free I ran as fast as I could and made my way back here," Ryoga explained with haunted eyes trying to erase the memories of what Washu did to him from his mind.

"Sure Ryoga," Nabiki told him skeptically.

"It's true, she even cured my sense of direction!"

"If she cured your sense of direction then how long did it take you to get back here," Nabiki asked sarcastically. While waiting for her answer, and Akane acting as a leech on Ryoga, Kasumi left to answer the door due to the knocks that she had just heard coming from the front door.

"A week. Once I realized it I bought a map and a compass and made my way here as fast as I could," Ryoga explained before fishing the aforementioned items out of his pack as proof.

"Do you know the name of the shrine he was at in Okayama," Nabiki asked. If anything, if he got the city wrong she could track down the shrine.

"Masaki Shrine," a voice answered from behind the couple. When Nabiki looked up she saw Ranma standing next to Kasumi with a few other people behind him. "Only reason I let her keep ya in there so long Pig Boy was ta cure your sense of direction, and that alone took Washu-chan three months."

"PERVERT! What are you doing here," Akane yelled as she saw the multiple women behind Ranma. She and Nabiki were a little daunted by them, one with deep purple hair had a regal bearing that trounced even Kodachi's attitude, the cyan haired woman looked like a hunter in search of specific prey, a hunter you didn't want on your trail, the redheaded 'midget' that Ryoga was talking about that must've been called Washu was next with a gleam in her eyes that unsettled everyone in the room and caused Genma to grab the nearest glass of water when he entered the room, and finally a girl that looked about 14 or 15 with light blue hair and completely decimated any other girls beauty while radiating an aura of peace equal that of Kasumi. There was a boy around Ranma's age standing in-between the first two women, a long with an older gentlemen picking up the rear.

"Why must I have such a disrespectful child that he ran away," Genma wailed as best he could with his signs.

"You aren't my father Genma, give it up," Ranma deadpanned causing the panda to look at Ranma angrily.

"I know who my real father is, and congrats, you're not as much of a bastard as he is. At least you never tried to outright kill me," Ranma quipped sarcastically.

"Ranma, what are you doing here," Soun asked indifferently.

"I'm here to do two things I should have done from the beginning. Soun Tendo, you are here by banned from practicing Anything Goes Martial Arts. I am revoking your teaching license permanently and unless you become a teacher with another art you will have to close your dojo," Ranma demanded.

"What gives you the right to do that," Akane demanded angrily.

"The same right that allowed me to do it 9 months ago to you, but you didn't seem to listen to me. I am the Grandmaster of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and I have control who teaches our school and who can practice it," Ranma retorted. "You should be proud, it's your fault that he lost his ability. He was given probation when I left before, but because you didn't listen to me and continued to use the Art you have brought dishonor on not only yourself but your family. When your father didn't step in and stop you from practicing Anything Goes he sealed his own fate."

"How do you know she practiced," Nabiki asked curiously, "And when did you learn to talk so well?"

"That's easy, when Ryoga comes around blaming me for Akane getting hurt due to Dojo Destroyers it's pretty obvious that she's the one defending the dojo instead of him, your father, or Genma," Ranma explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. This little tidbit cause a Ryoga pancake to be made in the room as Akane became angry at Ryoga for spilling the beans to Ranma. "Oh, and my speech was helped along by people who actually gave a damn. They realized that I _did_ have a mind I just hadn't had a chance to use it so they tutored me and helped me break some of my worse habits."

"RYOGA NO BAKA!"

"Now how is it his fault that you went against the Grandmaster of the school," Ranma asked as if he were talking to a child. This enrages Akane to the point she leaps at Ranma only to be knocked out mid-flight by Ryoko.

"You were right kid, she has a worse temper than either me or Ayeka," Ryoko commented in awe.

"YOU HURT MY BABY," Soun screamed using his demon head before leaping at Ranma. I'm sensing a pattern here, how about you? Before he could even cover half the distance he found his face implanted on a shield that had sprung up between him and the group. Of course a certain panda wasn't going to let that go and had used the Umi Sen Ken to get closer to Ranma in hopes of forcing him to forget this nonsense and go back to pretending to being his son. Of course, the bokken strike to the back of head made him decide a nap would be better.

"Why don't we sit down and discuss this like rational adults," Tenchi suggested.

"Oh my, I can't believe I forgot, would anyone like some tea," Kasumi asked as she bustled towards the kitchen to begin making the tea she was sure people would want. It was more so she could figure out how to properly apologize to Ranma than anything else, but a good hostess doesn't neglect her duties either.

"Once everyone stops hiding and comes inside I'll introduce everyone," Ranma called out towards the door leading to the backyard causing Cologne to hop in on her cane followed by Shampoo, and Nodoka walked in from the living room. "Now that everyone is here I'll make introductions. I'll start with those I came with, the older gentleman you see is Katsuhito Masaki, my kenjutsu instructor. To his left is his grandson Tenchi, who is my sparring partner. The two woman hanging off of Tenchi are Ayeka Misaki Jurai, the regal one, and Ryoko Hakubi, the buxom one. The little redhead seated on my left is Washu-chan, the greatest scientific mind you will find _ever_. Just don't do anything to piss her off or you'll find yourself in her lab. And last, but certainly not least, is Sasami Misaki Jurai. She was the original reason I began staying with the Masaki's as I was to protect her and she's become a very good friend of mine."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Kasumi commented as she set out the tea and began serving everyone, much to the joy of everyone present. It helped break some of the tension that had been building.

"Although most of you will be able to guess who they are I'll go ahead with the introductions anyway. The woman who just served us is Kasumi, bonified slave and daughter of Soun Tendo. Soun would be that weeping wreck that knocked himself out on Ayeka's shield earlier. To Kasumi's left is Nabiki Tendo, certified mercenary and bread winner of the Tendo home. Without her the family probably would have been on the streets a long time ago."

"Got that right Saotome," Nabiki retorted sharply. She didn't like Ranma's comments about her family so far, especially that slave comment about Kasumi.

"I'm not a Saotome," Ranma told her coldly before continuing as if it didn't happen, "And the youngest of the Tendo sisters is Akane, she's the one that Ryoko knocked out earlier. I believe Kasumi once described her as a sweet girl, but somewhat a violent maniac. Something like that anyway. The person that looks like a shriveled monkey on a stick is actually Elder Cologne of the Chinese Amazons. She's one of the best martial artists you'll find, and is around 300 years old. Next to her is her great-granddaughter Shampoo who was the village champion a few years ago. I believe they're still under the opinion that I'm Shampoo's husband."

"Of course you are Son-in-Law. A change in name means nothing to the Amazons," Cologne pointed out crossly. She didn't like the shriveled monkey joke, but the older man sitting near Ranma made her nervous. She felt like she knew him and just couldn't place it yet, but she would eventually.

"We'll just see what the Emperor of Jurai and Tsunami have to say about that," Ranma commented lightly while thinking back to when he met Tsunami.

_Flashback_

"Ranma, there's something I need to tell you," Sasami began, looking more nervous than Ranma in a room full of kittens.

"Whatcha need Sasami," Ranma asked in concern.

"Can we talk somewhere private, there's something I need to tell you," She asked with a slight twitch as she attempted to get her nervousness under control.

"Of course Sasami-chan, just lead the way," he told her with a warm smile in the hopes of easing her worries. A lot of talks with Misaki, Funaho, and lately Washu had enlightened him as to how to better deal with situations like this. Sasami lead him to the base of Funaho-oh as it was the most likely place that they would have an extended period of privacy around the house. Ayeka and Ryoko still didn't completely trust Ranma around Sasami alone yet. Unless they had Tenchi to distract them they would do everything to make sure that there was at least _someone_ around whenever the two were in the same vicinity. "Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, you see, it's like this," Sasami went on to explain what happened to her as a child on Jurai, and Tsunami resurrecting her as an avatar until she grew old enough for Tsunami to take over the body. She still didn't want to believe that she was the same Sasami, and that when the assimilation was complete that they would share the body instead of Tsunami just taking what was hers.

"Wow, if that's the case ya don't really need protection then do ya? But it don't matter much cause you're still you right? It ain't like ya been lyin' to me about who you are," Ranma told her with a caring smile making Sasami feel much more at ease.

"Thank you Ranma," she replied before giving him a big hug, "There's one other thing. Tsunami wants to meet you, that's why we needed the privacy. Everyone in the family already knows about Tsunami, but only Tenchi, Katsuhito, and Washu have talked to her."

"Well, I guess we could do that, but what do I need ta do," Ranma asked.

"Lie down with your head on my lap," she coached. While that wasn't _technically_ needed, it was true that it would work better through touch, though holding hands would work. Ranma still hadn't learned that Sasami was one of the more devious people in the house hiding behind her innocent façade. (If you don't believe it watch the OVA's! I swear she's a trickster!)

"Um, alright," he replied nervously before complying with stiff movements. He still wasn't completely comfortable with physical contact, but he was getting better. All those damn hugs that Misaki gave him and now Sasami was giving him were helping with that. Within a minute of laying down his head he felt as if he was being pulled out of his body. The sensation only lasted for a fraction of a second before it ended and he saw a scene similar to Azusa's ship, only much more elaborate.

"Hello Ranma-kun," a gorgeous looking woman with light-blue hair said from behind him. Ranma took a moment to pick up his jaw before bowing low in greeting.

"H-hello Tsunami-sama," he replied feeling for the first time in his life that he should show the utmost respect without the person needing to do anything to earn it.

"No need to be nervous Ranma, I've been looking forward to meeting you since Kaikou told me about you," Tsunami told him with a smile as she walked towards him. It was then that Ranma noted that not only was he disconnected from his body, but he was in his Juraian armor, something he hadn't done since he had gotten it.

"Ah, whatcha need Tsunami-sama," Ranma asked after calming himself down.

"First why don't you tell me about yourself, I'm sure Sasami explained our relationship, I'll explain it further and what it will mean in the future once you're done," Tsunami suggested to which Ranma nodded. After 30 minutes, and a _highly_ condensed version of his life story Ranma got to the point where he arrived at the Masaki home.

"So Azusa asked me ta be a kinda bodyguard/fiancé to Sasami. I think he woulda chucked out the fiancé bit, but Misaki wasn't gonna let him," Ranma told her with a wry grin.

"So that's how it is, Sasami explained the protector part, and that you are a friend of hers, but she never mentioned being betrothed," Tsunami replied with a smirk.

"Ah, well, we kinda agreed ta just be friends for now. Seein' as how she's so young an all, it jus' wouldn't be right for me ta look at her like a fiancée so, um, yeah," Ranma finished lamely causing Tsunami to giggle cutely.

"That's sweet," she told him, "What about when she's older? She'll still be Sasami, when the assimilation is complete we'll just share her body. She will be me, her memories and personality will be left intact."

"I was wonderin' about that, she made it sound like ya just used her ta make a new body for yourself," Ranma asked confused.

"No, when she fell in the nursery she was still alive, if only barely, I bonded with her to preserve her life. No matter what she will not believe it at this point, not to say I haven't tried, but someday she will know the truth," Tsunami explained.

"So it'll be both of ya in the same body?"

"Yes, we will become one person," Tsunami replied trying to make it sound less like possession before blushing and restating her question from earlier, "You never did answer my question, would you feel better about his engagement if Sasami were older?"

"You feelin' okay? You're turnin' red," Ranma asked as he put his hand to her forehead to check her temperature causing the immortal being Tsunami to blush as red as a tomato. This wasn't something she was going to forget anytime soon. She quickly nodded to indicate she was feeling fine and that he should answer the question. "Well, I guess it all kinda depends on how we both feel. I just got myself outta that engagement mess in Nerima, and I still gotta find ways ta deal with the Amazons, but after she grows up I'd probably be more open ta the idea."

"You're not the first Juraian to have to deal with those Amazons," Tsunami practically growled, "The next time you talk to the Matriarch invoke the Emperor and my name, that should shut her up."

"Why would it do that," Ranma asked.

"300 years ago the Amazons controlled twice as much space, before half of it was reduced to rubble as a warning," Tsunami replied with a glint in her eyes.

"But I thought Azusa didn't know where Yosho was until now," Ranma asked.

"He didn't, but I did. I've been helping Yosho hide here since his defeat of Ryoko because I knew that Jurai would fall under his rule. He wouldn't rule it with all his heart and the people would have hated him because of his heritage. They're much more open and accepting now then they were back then fortunately, but Jurai would have fallen had Yosho taken the seat of Emperor," Tsunami explained solemnly before getting that glint in her eyes again that made him wary, "280 years ago he ran across that Amazon village. They didn't want to take no for an answer, no matter how many Elders he beat they were not going to let him go, so he asked for a favor and when they were returning from a war party I decimated the empty half of the village." Ranma could only whistle appreciatively in response to that.

"I could probably take 'em out, but ta do it would kill a fair few of 'em and that ain't something I wanna do," Ranma commented.

"That's what makes you so special," she told him with a smile.

_End flashback_

"That is not a name to invoke lightly Son-in-Law," Cologne threatened.

"He can have done exactly what I did Cologne," Katsuhito/Yosho threatened coldly surprising everyone in the room.

"So it is you Yosho," Cologne replied sourly. She was still put out over the fact that she lost her Airen because he had friends that could rain fire down from the sky quickly enough to vaporize half the village within a minute. She now assumed, based on their auras, that it was a spaceship that did it, but that didn't change anything. "I never thought you the type of coward to hide behind others Ranma."

"Who says it's cowardly? I've tried everything to get out of the false engagement that you continuously attempt to trap me in. What you've been doing amounts to nothing more than many counts of attempted rape," Ranma told her coldly. This accusation didn't sit well with Cologne as rape charges were always dealt with severely in the village. Well, when it was a woman claiming rape. The man accused was usually killed almost instantly. Women were never accused of rape because according to their laws they couldn't be, but according to Japanese law they could be. "This appears to be the only way to get through to you that I won't marry Shampoo, if it takes wiping your village off the map then that's what it'll take. I'm sure the Musk would be more than glad to take the survivors in."

"Come Shampoo, it is obvious that spending any more time in Japan would be a futile effort," Cologne ordered before hopping away on her cane. Shampoo sent one last pleading look at Ranma before following her great-grandmother.

"Was that really necessary Ranma," Nodoka asked. She felt some pity for the young girl, although she couldn't rightly tell why.

"AHA, I knew it," Washu exclaimed making everyone in the room jump a little bit and turn to face her.

"Knew what Washu-chan," Ranma asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Never mind me, I'll explain in a bit," Washu replied with a gleam in her eyes that made the tension skyrocket but nobody wanted to disagree with her. Before anyone else could say something Kasumi moved and prostrated herself before Ranma.

"Ranma-san, please, I beg of you, forgive me for how I treated you," Kasumi asked with tears streaming down her face onto the floor.

"Ah, forget about it Kasumi, I'm not mad at you anymore. I could never hold a grudge," Ranma told her while helping her sit up.

"Boy, you've been added to the Saotome register, now hurry up and marry a Tendo daughter," Genma yelled as he was now awake. He had added Ranma shortly after Ranma left when he realized he had forgotten to do it. Now that that mistake was taken care of he could control the boy once again.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you're able to do that," Ranma told him condescendingly. "Not only was I already added to my Mother's register, I have a fiancée that was not forced on me. We only have to wait to marry until she hits the age of majority," Ranma lied. Technically Sasami would've been way past the age of majority, but it couldn't be proven as she looked like she was 14 or 15. That in itself was a change from six months ago when she looked about 10 so he suspected Tsunami and Sasami were speeding up the assimilation for some reason.

"What are you talking about boy, I found you fair and square," Genma yelled stupidly making everyone in the room glare at him, including Soun who was now awake.

"Did you find your parents Ranma," Nabiki asked curiously, hoping it was something she could make money off of.

"Yep, my father was a bigger bastard than Genma, but I'm still looking for my mother. I have her name, but I'm not sure how much it'll help me," Ranma told her.

"I might help you look, it'll cost you though, what's her name," Nabiki asked with yen signs in her eyes.

"Yukishiro Kaoru," those two words made Nodoka gasp in shock. Everyone turned to look at her curiously as her face paled and she started shaking uncontrollably.

"What's wrong Auntie," Kasumi asked out of sheer politeness.

"Wh-where did you hear that name," Nodoka asked in shock.

"From Azusa, Yosho's father, he learned that my father tried killing her but she received treatment and left. She changed her name somewhere along the way so I can't be sure what her name is now," Ranma explained with a suspicious gleam in his eyes.

"AHEM," Washu coughed to get everyone's attention. Once she was sure she had it she decided to spill the beans about what she discovered earlier. "Ranma, I would like to introduce you to your mother, Yukishiro Kaoru."

"WHAT?" Everyone in the room, except Yosho and Washu, yelled in shock.

"Wait, wait, if she's Ranma's mother, then why does she seem so surprised," Nabiki asked.

"The trauma from the incident caused a type of amnesia. It wasn't certain whether or not she would regain her memories or not, but she set out for here because she felt that if she was going to find answers it would be here," Yosho answered.

"S-son," Nodoka asked in shock. Ranma just nodded his head sadly. As much as he wanted to find his mother Nodoka wasn't the mother he wanted, but he wasn't going to be picky. Hopefully they could restore her memories and she wouldn't be so…loopy. Before he could even register the movement he had an Amazon class glomper on him in the form of his mother. Nobody moved for the next few minutes to give mother and son a moment to themselves. When Nodoka calmed herself down Genma had found himself against a wall with the Saotome honor blade imbedded in the floor a scant millimeter from castrating him.

"What are you doing No-chan," Genma protested.

"Don't call me No-chan," Nodoka/Kaoru growled, "For 18 years you have blackmailed me into being your wife with the knowledge I wasn't from Earth, well not anymore. You can take your knowledge and shove it for all I care! I found what I came for and as soon as I can I'm divorcing you!"

"You can't! I own you," Genma screeched before finding seven red auras in front of him and what looked like a red pillar behind them. He could guess what it was. The seven auras were all the women in the house, except Akane who was still unconscious, and the pillar behind them was Ranma. He was in deep and he knew it. Time for a time tested technique…now he just had to grab the water.

_Splash_

I'm just a cute panda _Flip _Don't hurt me

"Has that ever worked," Yosho asked incredulously as everyone in the room bust out into laughter that he would even try something so stupid.

"Not a once," Ranma replied before turning to Washu, "Waaashuuuu-chaaan?"

"Yes Ranma," Washu asked warily. She didn't like the tone of his voice. It never turned out good for her. The last time he did that she had to spend three months working on that idiot Ryoga just to cure his directional problem while trying to find the trigger for the Jusenkyo curse. She still hadn't managed the latter, but she did cure him of his water magnet problem.

"Is there any chance you can find the recipe for and make some Chinese herbal shampoo? Formula 911 specifically," Ranma asked with puppy dog eyes. This look made Washu roll her eyes at it's pathetic-ness, but she agreed. She'd actually assumed he'd ask for it once she'd heard about his mother. After hearing his stories about Nerima and the memory incident that Akane girl went through it was the thing Ranma'd do.

"Here ya go, I had some made up already," Washu said with a gin. Ranma beamed at her, grabbed the bottle, and grabbed Nodoka's hand before dragging her into the bathroom to try it. Washu followed along as she had her own item to help. It was a side project she'd had running a few years ago to stimulate memory recovery and it only took her a few days to finish it up once she got a few days of peace and quiet. Several minutes later everyone in the house heard Nodoka screaming, "WAAAAH, I have my baby boy back!"

"I guess it worked," Nabiki commented surprised. Not much went off without a hitch where Ranma was concerned and today went surprisingly easy for him.

"Owie, what happened," Akane asked as she regained consciousness.

"You did something incredibly stupid," Nabiki commented before helping her sister up. Akane looked around as her brain rebooted and recalling the last things she remembered.

"WHERE IS THAT PERVERT," Akane screamed.

"He's being reunited with his mother," Kasumi answered, "You will not interfere with them."

"K-Kasumi? What has that pervert done to you," Akane asked. The only way her sweet older sister would threaten her, even if it _was_ a veiled threat, was if that pervert Ranma had done something to her.

"He has done nothing but forgive me for how I treated him when he lived her," Kasumi told her sister flatly shocking all the Tendos and Genma.

"Why did you need that perverts forgiveness," Akane demanded.

"I'd think you need it more than anyone," Ayeka commented snidely.

"What is that supposed to mean," Akane screeched.

"Unprovoked attacks, assault, infidelity, attempted murder through poison, torture," Ryoko listed, "Would you like me to continue? I can think of a few more things you've done to Ranma."

"He deserved all those attacks for cheating on me, and when did I poison or torture him," Akane yelled.

"So if, what's his name, Mousse I think it is, were to hit on you that would mean that Ryoga could hit you for cheating on him," Ayeka asked sarcastically.

"Of course not! It wouldn't be _my_ fault if someone hit on me," Akane replied as if it were obvious. This caused everyone in the room to give her a 'duh' look. "That pervert was enjoying it!"

"Well, they were technically his fiancées at the time as well, wouldn't you enjoy attention from someone you were supposed to marry? And anyway, according to what we've heard it was all one-way affection. Ranma never encouraged their actions," Sasami asked sounding a lot more grown-up than she looked making the people from the Masaki home believe that it was actually Tsunami speaking not Sasami.

"Have you ever tasted your food," Ryoko asked.

"What does that have anything to do with it? My cooking is the best in the house," Akane declared making the Tendo's, Genma, and the Yukishiro's all face-fault.

"How many meals has your sister made that can move on their own," Ryoko asked rhetorically, "I'll admit, I tried cooking for my Tenchi, but I can't do it at all. I suck at cooking, but it just means I have to use other means to try to win Tenchi's heart."

"Would you like it if someone shoved the cause of your deepest fear into your face every chance they got," Ranma asked.

"Of course not, what does that have to do with anything," Akane asked starting to lose confidence.

"Oh, I don't know, how about all the times you shoved a c-c-c…one of those felines in my face? Or tossed Shampoo in her cursed form at me," Ranma deadpanned.

"Akane, you didn't," Kasumi asked shocked. She hadn't seen any instances of Akane doing that, but her rose colored picture of her youngest sister was quickly being dissolved.

"So what if I did," Akane demanded.

"Didn't you know he still had nightmares about being taught the Neko-ken," Kasumi admonished. Now that she thought about it, Akane's actions probably caused a good chunk of those nightmares.

"What kind of monster are you," Ayeka asked with scorn.

"No kidding, and I thought Kagato was a bastard," Ryoko said with a shiver.

"WAAAH! MY DAUGHTER TORTURED HER FIANCE," Soun wailed.

"IT'S ALL THAT PERVERT'S FAULT," Akane yelled. Akane S.O.P. when all else fails, blame Ranma.

"Akane, I don't think it's right that you keep blaming Ranma," said the one voice that shocked everyone from Nerima to the core, even shocked the other somewhat, Ryoga Hibiki.

"R-Ryoga," Akane asked in shock.

"Isn't that a bit rich coming from you," Ranma asked skeptically.

"I've been sitting here watching the entire time and thinking about things instead of just blaming everything on you like normal. I realized that if you were the person I thought you were you never would have had that girl cure my directional sense," Ryoga admitted before bowing to Ranma. "I'm sorry Ranma."

"Forget it, I treated most of our fights as spars anyway, you're one of the reasons I'm as good as I am anyway," Ranma replied before returning the bow.

"Ha ha, you're probably right. If it wasn't for our fighting I doubt I would know half of the moves I do, like the Shi Shi Hokoudan and the Bakusai Tenketsu," Ryoga said while chuckling.

"TRAITOR! RYOGA NO BAKA," Akane yelled before attempting to smash a statue over Ryoga's head. Unfortunately for her Ranma interceded and hit her sleep spot pressure point.

"Well, I think we've done all we came to do," Ranma commented before turning to Soun. "Should I find Akane practicing Anything Goes, or you still operating your dojo **cough**notlikely**cough** then I will come back and challenge you for the dojo. After I win you will find yourself and your youngest daughter on the street."

"Shall we go," Yosho asked.

"Wait," Kasumi asked while clinging onto Ranma's shirt.

"What is it Kasumi," he asked curiously.

"Take me with you," she pleaded.

A/N: Well, I guess there'll be one more chapter on this story to wrap it up. It'll probably be in a month, but who knows, I might actually get around to it soon. Dunno though. Hope ya'll enjoyed the two chapters, and please let me know if there are any inconsistencies in the story so I can make corrections. I tried to remember things as best a I could and correct things when I remembered or noticed that I screwed up, but I'm not perfect.

Thanks for all the reviews and help that I got with the last chapter! Ya'll really helped.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½, or anything else you may recognize. Not a dime is being made of this story and is for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

A/N: Not gonna make any bullshit excuses, I was just too lazy to write this chapter. Well, here we are the end of this story. Not the complete end, because there's room for a sequel, so if anyone wants to do that, feel free. I originally planned a lot more with this story, hence Ranma getting bonded to a tree, but I just want this story done. Hope ya'll have enjoyed the ride!

I'm trying to wrap up most things in the story, but I might've missed one or two things, oh well, such is life.

Chapter 12

_Last Chapter:_

"Shall we go," Yosho asked.

"Wait," Kasumi asked while clinging onto Ranma's shirt.

"What is it Kasumi," he asked curiously.

"Take me with you," she pleaded.

_Now, on with the show!_

"Why would you wanna go with me," Ranma asked confused.

"You were right, I'm treated almost no better than a slave here, the only person who really even treats me as a person from my own family is Nabiki. The rest see me as someone to just keep the house running while they have their own lives," Kasumi admitted shamefully.

"If it's that bad why haven't you just left," Ryoko asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Where could I go? I've lost contact with the few friends I had in high school, and I wouldn't have been able to find a job without getting an apartment first, and I couldn't get an apartment without having a job first. I wouldn't have been able to have a job because father would have made me stay at home," Kasumi explained with tears flowing down her cheeks. Ranma put his arms around her seeing as she was still clutching onto his shirt. He hoped it helped comfort her, but he still wasn't used to this kind of stuff. If it were just him he would say yes in a heartbeat, but he had to think about what Sasami would feel if he brought another woman with them, and plus he was a guest at the Masaki home.

"Grandpa, it's alright if she comes isn't it," Sasami asked sweetly while giving Yosho puppy dog eyes that, while no as effective as they were six months ago, were still strong enough to melt the heart of the coldest demon in hell.

"Of course it is," Yosho answered with a smile while inwardly hoping he didn't go into diabetic shock.

"Ayeka, Ryoko, will you please help Tendo-san pack her things," Tenchi asked knowing those two wouldn't refuse him. Which of course, neither did.

"Of course Lord Tenchi," Ayeka responded with a nod before motioning Kasumi to lead the way.

"No problem Tenchi," Ryoko smirked before floating after them.

"So Ranma, what kind of family are you marrying into," Nabiki asked. If the info was good enough she'd be able to sell it for a little profit even though they were sitting comfortable right now, it was always best to be prepared.

"You wanna field that one Sensei," Ranma asked.

"Ranma is betrothed to the Royal Princess of Jurai, an intergalactic Empire, whose inhabitants are, shall we say, long lived," Yosho explained.

"Boy, you've finally done it, you've hit the jackpot," Genma yelled as soon as he had dumped hot water over his head. Which just goes to show, old pandas are just like old dogs; they can't learn new tricks.

"What happened to joining the schools," Nabiki asked snidely. Well, she needed someone to vent on, Ranma was marrying into royalty and she doubted he thought well enough of her family to help them out anymore, especially since Kasumi was going with him.

"Yosho," a voice from behind the Masaki party barked, "Aren't you ready to leave yet? We need to return to Jurai soon for Seiji and Kenji's trials. I cannot postpone them indefinitely."

"I apologize father, we are just waiting for one of the people from the house to pack her things, she requested to go with Ranma. Misaki and Funaho finally had gotten that vacation to Earth out of Azusa, but their return date was today and they couldn't postpone their leaving much longer. Ranma had begged, unnecessarily, to be there for the trial. Since he was an important witness they actually needed him to make sure Seiji was punished more harshly.

"Lord Ranma," Funaho spoke up, "I thought you were no longer on good terms with the residents of this house? Why would you allow one of them to come with you?"

"Actually, we're bringing two," Ranma replied after a moment of thought, "We found my mother, who had actually been my foster mother. Washu and I returned her memories, and she and I will go from there. She don't have anything to pack though. Kasumi I forgave a while ago, never could hold a grudge, especially against her, so when she asked to come with Sasami asked Yosho if it was alright if she moved in. Kind of pointless I guess since we gotta go straight to Jurai, but she'll need her things."

"Hold on a second, what did you mean by 'Lord' Ranma," Nabiki asked once her mind had caught up.

"Oh, did we forget to mention that part," Yosho asked with a mischievous grin, "Ranma's father was Lord Seiji, a member of the Royal family, if only 6th cousin to the Emperor, and Ranma has inherited his title, suite at the palace, any land he may own, and all liquid assets."

"How well off was Pops anyway," Ranma asked curiously. The suite he had seen was definitely decorated high class, but he wasn't sure if that came with the suite or if it had been purchased.

"Despite his distance from the throne, Seiji was the fourth richest nobleman on Jurai," Funaho answered, making Nabiki twitch, or go into convulsions it _was_ quite a bit of full body twitching, while drooling.

"If Ranma's real father is such an honorless jerk why does he get access to all that," Soun asked with yen signs in his eyes, showing exactly where Nabiki got her greed from, maybe not her mind, but her greed at the very least.

"He is being put on trial, which is a mere formality, for attempted murder of a child. Of any child we take that serious on Jurai, but as the child in question was a member of the Royal Family and now is betrothed to the second Princess of Jurai, well, he'll be lucky to live a month after we arrive," Funaho explained.

"And you're condoning this Ranma," Soun asked in shock.

"If they ain't gonna kill him I will for what he did to my mom. I dun care what he did to me, but he tried to kill my mom, that's where I draw the line," Ranma growled while his aura flickered into the visible spectrum as he thought about it. This act was enough to bring Nabiki out of her monetary fantasies.

"Ranma-kun, could you use an accountant," Nabiki asked hopefully. Not only would she get out of this house with Kasumi, but she could negotiate a good pay out of Ranma.

"I'll think about it Nabs, I gotta find out what all I got first," Ranma told her while seriously considering it. "I gotta come back for a little bit after the trial to clear up a couple more loose ends anyway so I'll let you know."

"We're ready Lord Tenchi," Ayeka commented as she and Ryoko came down the stairs with Kasumi, each with a suitcase in their hands. It only took so long for them to pack that little because Ayeka spent most of the time telling Kasumi she needed to get more makeup and clothing if she was to fit in the Royal Palace.

"Let's go," Azusa commanded gruffly, to which everyone nodded. Ranma, Nodoka(Kaoru), and Kasumi bid their goodbyes quickly and were outside where they were quickly 'beamed' aboard the Royal Flagship. What nobody noticed was Happosai sneaking with them in the hopes of finding more 'silky darlings' to liberate and women to fondle in his golden years.

I never did say what happened to Ukyo did I? Well, after Konatsu's family died from an attack by rabid flying squirrels (really shows their skills huh?) Konatsu became the head of the family. When Ukyo's father would not let her drop the vengeance quest she married into his family and they restarted Konatsu's line and a chain of successful okanimiyaki restaurants.

A/N: Well, it's finished. Damn, that was a lot shorter than I thought it would be. I had only intended to write it up until they left for Jurai to leave it open for a sequel or your imaginations as to what happens next. I can't write weddings so I'll never do the sequel myself. Plus I have to work on studying to so I can go back to school so I don't have a lot of time to put to writing. Who woulda thought I'd forget so much math in 6 years? Anyway, that's the end of Ranma Muyo. If anyone wants to write the sequel just send me a link once it's up so I can read it and post it on my site so people can find it. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed the story!


End file.
